(28 Oct 2011)
1. Two women wading through floodwater in the Thonburi district of Bangkok, one woman does a "wai" at the camera, the traditional Thai greeting
2. People standing in water, one laughs and says UPSOUND: (English) "Bangkok is underwater"
3. Mid of submerged car, with boat going past in background
4. Low angle of boat going past camera
5. Man carries his child through the flood
6. Monk perched on a boat in flooded street
7. Baby on a styrofoam raft being pulled through water
8. Children play with abandoned supermarket trolley in deep water
9. Close of toddler on a rubber inner tube, looking bewildered
10. Wide of the toddler with adult
11. Wide of people at flooded school which is being used as an evacuation centre
12. Supplies being handed out to evacuees who stand in water as they receive them
13. SOUNDBITE (Thai) Thana Santisawat, School Director:
"Transportation is very difficult. If an evacuee needs to go to hospital it's very difficult because of the flood. A small vehicle can't get through. Only a ten-wheel truck can pass."
14. Various of very young baby cradled in arms of mother who sits on chair in the water
15. Various of family and babies in evacuation centre, who have had to move up to a higher floor to avoid the water
16. Various of women looking down from upper floor at the water below in the street
17. Wide of men pushing motorbike on a float through water
18. Various of people wading in the water near evacuation centre, as sun sets
STORYLINE
With the hours ticking away until the highest tide of the month, residents of Bangkok are anxiously waiting to see how far the floods will reach into the city centre.
If the floods that have threatened for so long finally sweep into the capital's central districts, it will deal a further massive blow to the country's economy.
For many residents in the Thonburi district, which hugs the swollen Chao Phraya river, the floods are already a reality, bringing misery and uncertainty.
But in spite of their troubles, many Thais remain remarkably calm and typically well-mannered in the face of the disaster.
Some even managed to find a rather desperate humour in the crisis.
"Bangkok is underwater," said one man, laughing as he waded through thigh-deep water, with a submerged car in the background.
But there is nothing funny about the situation they are facing, or the threat hanging over the city as the hours pass.
Families are having to adapt to a world where even the simple act of moving is at best precarious, at worst dangerous especially for the very young.
Forced to leave their homes due to the rising waters, 300 people have been sheltering in the Dusit Taram school.
But now even the school has been inundated.
According to the director, the school is almost cut off, making it difficult to transport anyone who is taken sick.
"If an evacuee needs to go to hospital it's very difficult because of the flood. A small vehicle can't get through. Only a ten-wheel truck can pass," said Thana Santisawat.
The evacuees have now moved up one floor in the school to stay above the water.
On Saturday Bangkok will be hit by the highest tides of the month, but it remains to be seen if the floodwater will flow the relatively short distance to the commercial business district.
The Thai floods are the worst for decades and have claimed close to 400 lives since they began in July.
They were triggered by heavier than usual monsoon rains.
Around a third of the country has been inundated.
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