Thailand Floods Pictures November

Thai soldiers sweep once flooded streets in a big cleaning day at Lat Phrao shopping district as floodwaters recede from the area, in Bangkok, Thailand, 19 November 2011. With tens of thousands of soldiers on the streets helping flood affected people, Thais are applauding their assistance restoring the formerly tarnished image of Thai forces after their involvement in the bloody crackdown of 2010 red shirt political protests. As floodwaters start to recede in some parts of Bangkok, Thailand is counting the enormous cost after weeks of flooding as millions of people remain affected by the worst flooding in five decades. More than 500 deaths have been reported in the disaster and it has caused billions of dollars in damages to residents homes, small businesses and to many foreign owned industrial manufacturing plants, as well as tourist sites.

A handout photo released by the Thai Goernment Spokesperson office shows Buddhist monks from Thailand blessing and praying for the Kingdom in the grips of flooding and for Thai residents involved in the floods disaster, inside the golden surrounds of the sacred Emerald Buddha Temple, inside the Grand Palace grounds in Bangkok, Thailand, 19 November 2011. The worst flooding in five decades in Thailand has claimed over 500 lives and caused billions of dollars in damages to residents homes, small businesses and to many foreign owned industrial manufacturing plants.