Bangkok floods to ease in early November: PM

BANGKOK, Oct 29 (AFP): Floods engulfing parts of the Thai capital should start to recede soon, the prime minister said Saturday after barriers along Bangkok's swollen main river prevented a disastrous overflow. The city of 12 million people was on heightened alert because of a seasonal high tide that was expected to coincide with the arrival of runoff water from the central plains, where people have endured weeks of flood misery. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who has previously warned the floods could last for weeks, said the authorities had expedited the flow of runoff water from the north through canals in the east and west of the capital. "If everyone works hard ... then the floodwater in Bangkok will start to recede in the first week of November," Yingluck said in a weekly radio and television address to the nation. She said the overall flood situation in central parts of Thailand had improved and volumes of water flowing through Bangkok's main river, the Chao Phraya, had decreased. Yingluck's two-month-old administration has faced public criticism for giving confusing advice about the extent of the flood threat.