Wuttichart Kalayanamitr, Transport Company president, said he expected the number of passengers would peak Thursday and be crowded through Friday.

He said normal routes can operate as usual except that some parts of roads in the central provinces of Ayutthaya and Saraburi where damages from the recent flood have not yet been repaired.

However, the number of passengers using bus services since Dec 25 has dropped compared to the same period last year.

Mr Wuttichart said only some 2 million passengers are expected to return home during the New Year festival, down from about 3 million last year. This is due to some of them still staying in their hometowns repairing flood-damaged homes.

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Mr Phadermchai said that the factories are located in various industrial estates and parks and are mainly automobile spare part plants, resulting in unemployment for 10,957 workers.

However, the minister said, there is nothing to worry about as the workers are protected under their employment contracts, and they will be compensated and received added benefits.

Moreover, the ministry is currently listing over 100,000 job vacancies, he said.

The ministry and the industrial entrepreneurs also have agreements that if any factories request assistance from the government, they cannot lay off their staff, said the minister.

Mr Phadermchai said the problems the ministry has foreseen was the shortage of labour because some workers are reluctant to return to work being worried that flooding may occur again, and they don’t have confidence that the entrepreneurs would continue their businesses.

Four of seven flooded industrial estates and parks in the central provinces of Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani are already drained, while the three others are pumping floodwater from their areas.

All seven estates and parks were expected to resume full operations soon.

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Almost four thousand workers lost their jobs at flood-wrecked plants in this historic former capital, according to the Ayutthaya provincial labour chief.

Wannarat Srisuksa, chief of the Ayutthaya labour protection and welfare office, on Thursday said so far 14 companies have laid off 3,787 workers after experiencing the most severe flooding in decades.

But the companies are paying overall compensation of Bt91 million (slightly over US$3 million) to the unemployed.

In addition, he said, the unemployed are entitled to receive payments from Social Security Fund at 50 per cent of their salaries for six months.

The unemployment is considered statistically low in comparison with a total of 5,000 businesses in Ayutthaya which hires some 300,000 workers altogether, the senior government official said.

The Labour Ministry has notified those who have been made redundant that there are 50,000 job offers available at other businesses which survived the flooding.

Workers at flood-ravaged businesses yet to resume production can register with the provincial labour protection and welfare office to seek a government subsidy to pay a portion of their monthly salary on the condition that the employers pay at least 75 per cent of their employees’ salary.

Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) Vice President Tanit Sorat told a seminar on the post-flood Thai economic outlook Wednesday that 9,895 plants in eight provinces have been flooded, affecting 660,000 workers

On the south side of the airport. To accelerate the drainage of the north of the airport. Into the canal to the beach faster

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra on Monday declared more evacuation zones in Lat Phrao district as floodwaters keep rising, while more areas were put under close monitoring for possible evacuation.

The governor said the additional evacuation zones in Lat Phrao district comprised all of Chorakhe Bua sub-district, and Lat Phrao sub-district along Lat Phrao canal only until four roads — Lat Pla, Lat Phrao-Wang Hin, the northern part of Prasert Manukij, and Sena Nikom roads.

Residents of those areas should move to the shelters provided by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), he advised.

Mr Sukhumbhand also announced special monitoring areas in Huai Khwang district and the community along Lat Phrao canal.

Those living in the monitoring areas should move their valuables to higher ground and be ready to move out to safer areas, he said.

The Bangkok governor earlier Monday issued an evacuation advisory notice for Bangchan subdistrict of Khlong Sam Wa, bringing the total number of 12 districts under evacuation recommendations.

Mr Tongthong Chandransu, FROC Spokesperson, said that after high tide period, officials will quickly start fixing leaks along the embanlments on 2 November and finish it by15 November.

By setting up additional water pumps, overflow in Rangsit field will be released more speedily through the slucie gate at Klong Sam Wa, San Saep Canal and into Bang Pakong River respectively. The release of water in this zone might cause controlable flooding in Bangkok’s inner city covering Bueng Kum, Khan Na Yao and Suan Luang districts.

He also thanked residents living along Khlong Prapa, Lak Hok sub-district, Pathum Thani province for their cooperation with officials to fix the enbankments in order to block water from flowing into Khlong Prapa which might affect tap-water production in the end.

In the relief shelter in Don Mueang Airport, there are about 250 flood evacuees waiting to be taken to other centers while some of them are willing to stay on.

Mr. Bopit also reported that water level in the district remained normal and there were no signs of flooding yet except for some low-lying areas which could be slightly flooded such as in the back of Sena Niwet 2 community.

He added however that the authorities had built more barriers and installed more water pumps in the aforementioned areas.

The District Director expressed his concerns over the exact amount of water that could hit the area.

Nonetheless he said that he had discussed with community leaders, local politicians, and other related officials flood measures, citing the district’s readiness to evacuate its residents should the need arise.

According to the Interior Ministry, the devastating floods continue to affect 26 provinces and have killed 373 people. Two people are missing in the inundation.

At least 10 million rai of farm land has been swamped. The heavy flooding has cut off 75 highways in 19 province and 212 rural roads in 30 provinces. The Expressway and Rapid Transit Authority of Thailand is offering toll exemption until 31 October to drivers taking three routes, namely Bang Pli- Suksawat, Bangna-Chon Buri, and Ramindra- Ajnarong. The deluge has also forced the northbound bus service of the Transport Company to switch to alternative routes.

Defence Minister Gen Yuttasak Sasiprapa, RTA Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha, led a team to inspect the flooding situation and give relief bags to the flood victims in Bang Yai and Bang Bua Thong districts, Nonthaburi province. Also, they were briefed of the overall situation at the Army Disaster Relief Center in Bang Yai district. At present, the flood water has rose to more than one metre high, forcing a lot of the residents to flee to various evacuation centers.

At Don Mueang Airport, the water has flooded its front and the water level is increasing continuously, prompting officials to apply stone mix and sandbags to strengthen the dyke. So far the flood water has covered some parts inside the airport and on the runway with a tendency to spread to other areas. Airline operations have been halted as a result, and all the aircraft have been moved to other airports. Nevertheless, no passenger is left stranded.

Many flood victims who take shelter at the Don Mueang evacuation center were quickly relocated to other evacuation centers, causing the number of the evacuees to lower gradually.