Govt apologises to flood victims

Highway bail-out begins: Highways Department workers begin salvaging Bangkok-Stephan Buri Highway 340 in Pathum Thani yesterday. The road will be used as a detour to the South in case the Rama II Road, which is the main route to the South from Bangkok, is made impassable by floods.

From left: Bangkok Post reporters and photographers camp out at the newspaper head office after their homes were flooded or at risk of being inundated; A family sits on an embankment of big sand bags after receiving donations from a team of Bangkok Post reporters who visited flood victims in Don Muang district.

From left: Bangkok Post photographer Pattanapong Hirunard drives a motor boat to heavily flooded spots impassable to vehicles to take photos. SAROT MEKSOPHAWANNAKUL; Washing lines are put up on the roof of the Bangkok Post building for staff taking shelter at the company during the floods.

From left: Bangkok Post photographer Patipat Janthong wades through water to take food to dogs stranded by floods near Song Prapha Road in Don Muang district. SAROT MEKSOPHAWANNAKUL; A Buddhist nun paddles her way in a large basin in swamped Wat Or Ngern in Sai Mai district. PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD; People in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi travel by boat past a submerged garage selling spare parts. Boats are still a popular way of getting around despite the receding floodwater.

From left: Monks get onto a pickup truck from a raised platform at Wat Nual Chan in Bung Kum district of Bangkok. PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD; People are forced to live on the roofs of their homes in Don Muang after a sandbag barrier sent floodwater surging into their areas.

Water Festival

Thai girl Sawanya Seesura prays before releasing a traditional Krathong float into a pool during the Loy Kratong festival in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. Every year when the moon is full and the rainy season draws to an end, Thailand's waterways fill with millions of floating lotus-shaped lanterns - a symbolic, centuries-old gesture once meant to placate to the country's goddess of water. This year, flood-ravaged Thailand has plenty of reason to pray for rebirth - and little reason to celebrate. 

A young Thai boy makes his way with Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs or paper, to a canal during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.

Thai citizens buy Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs, before floating it in to the river during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.

Thai people pray before floating Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs or papers, into a canal during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.

A Buddhist monk gives an advice to a man to buy Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs or papers, before floating it in to a river during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months. 

Traditional Krathong floats are released into a pool during the Loy Kratong festival in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. Every year when the moon is full and the rainy season draws to an end, Thailand's waterways fill with millions of floating lotus-shaped lanterns - a symbolic, centuries-old gesture once meant to placate to the country's goddess of water. This year, flood-ravaged Thailand has plenty of reason to pray for rebirth .

Thai residents buy Krathong, a small lantern made of paper, before floating it in to the river during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.

A woman helps her son pray before releasing a traditional Krathong float into a pool during the Loy Kratong festival in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. Every year when the moon is full and the rainy season draws to an end, Thailand's waterways fill with millions of floating lotus-shaped lanterns - a symbolic, centuries-old gesture once meant to placate to the country's goddess of water. This year, flood-ravaged Thailand has plenty of reason to pray for rebirth - and little reason to celebrate.

A Thai woman lights candle and incense sticks to decorate in the Krathong, a small lantern made of banana leafs or papers, before floating it into the water during the Loy Kratong festival at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand Thursday, Nov. 10, 2011. The festival, came on the heels of a cataclysmic waterborne disaster that's drowned one-third of the country in three months, killing 529 people and wiping out rice fields and factories and livelihoods along the way. The flooding is the worst in Thailand since World War II, and it's not over yet. Damage so far is likely to exceed $6 billion. Recovery will take months.

Flood-plagued Thai PM cancels trip to summit in US

A resident wades through floodwaters at Wat Wichitraram temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Thailand's Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

A Thai flood victim pulls a makeshift raft carrying his daughter through murky floodwaters as they return home with relief material distributed at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

Thai residents wade along a flooded slum area at Chatuchak district in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

A Thai woman throws floodwater out of her house in a flooded neighborhood in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

A Buddha's statue sits amidst trash at a half-flooded street corner in Ayutthaya province, central Thailand Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra canceled plans to attend a Pacific trade forum in Hawaii this weekend as she struggled Tuesday to cope with her country's worst flooding in a half-century.

A Thai buddhist monk sits in a chair at flooded Wat Wichitraram temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011.Thailand's energy minister said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

Thai flood victims wade through murky floodwaters with the relief material distributed at a temple in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

A Thai woman cuts ingredients for cooking along a flooded slum area at Chatuchak district in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday Nov. 8, 2011. Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

Residents ride on a fire truck through a flooded street in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2011. Thailand's energy minister said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

A Thai policeman directs traffic as he carries a pylon along a flooded street at the Saphan Khwai area in Bangkok, Thailand,Tuesday Nov. 8, 2011. Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

A Thai resident washes himself before climbing up his house along a flooded slum area at Chatuchak district in Bangkok, Thailand, Tuesday Nov. 8, 2011. Thai Energy Minister Pichai Naripthaphan said the flood crisis in Bangkok is likely to drag on for another month, as authorities issued another evacuation advisory in a northern neighborhood and floodwaters inched further into the city's heart.

Thai men ride a makeshift raft through a flooded neighborhood in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, Nov. 7, 2011. The water slowly advancing through Bangkok's northern and western neighborhoods is threatening the city's subway system, two key industrial estates and the emergency headquarters set up to deal with the flooding.