Central Bangkok ‘safe’ from floods –Thai PM

BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra declared Bangkok’s central business district safe from floods on Saturday, as the death toll around the kingdom approached 600.

Yingluck was speaking in her weekly radio and television address from the Indonesian resort island of Bali, where she is attending regional summits.

“It’s certain that the inner zone of Bangkok will be safe from floods, as the measures to hold floodwaters have been successful,” Yingluck said.

Yingluck said the drainage of floodwaters in the western part of the capital was progressing slowly and she was confident that a key road linking the city to the country’s south would not be cut.

“Many feared that Rama II road may be submerged, but it’s unlikely now and if it is inundated it will not be serious,” she said.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said in its daily update Saturday that 595 people have been killed in floods and two are still unaccounted for.