Prime MinisterYingluck Shinawatra on Wednesday conceded it was futile to fight the raging torrent, saying her government's top priority was to save lives before property.
"My top priority is to ensure safety - aiming to save the people's lives first and the property second because we can not save both at the same time," she said.Yingluck said she instructed the provincial authorities to prepare contingency plans for evacuation.
"From my aerial survey of flooded areas, I saw a large number of people still trapped in the inundation," she said.
She said the authorities should try to save dry zones from being flooded but dikes should not be erected to stop the water because it was impossible to do so.
"At the Hitech Industrial Park, two-meter high concrete wall could not rein in the water," she said in reference to the inundation in Bang Pa-in, Ayutthaya.
Commenting on the flood prevention in Bangkok, she said 1.7 million sandbags had been used to fortify existing barriers.
The sandbags were unreliable, however, because of their fast deterioration, she said, adding that some people would remove them to ease the inundation in their areas.
The additional dikes to protect the capital should be in place by tomorrow, she said, admitting there was to guarantee to deter the floods.
"There are so many factors beyond control but we will do our best," she said.
She also called on vendors not to horde and increase the prices of essential goods.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/new/politics/Focus-shifts-from-fighting-raging-torrent-to-savin-30167472.html
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