Quelle surprise !!!: Poor left to rot in Bangkok flooding disaster

[marmar]

BANGKOK — Residents who have had to wade through filthy, waist-high water for days have begun punching holes through manmade barriers to drain their poor neighborhoods of stagnant water as record flooding that has killed more than 500 people inundates Thailand’s capital.

The angry residents’ sabotage to Bangkok’s dikes and sandbag walls - which have protected the city’s tony downtown area from rising water - prompted a desperate assessment by government leaders.

“If the government cannot control the protesters … all districts will be flooded,” said Bangkok Deputy Gov. Thirachon Manopaipibul.

On Sunday, about 60 percent of Bangkok was submerged by storm-fed floodwater that has washed through this Southeast Asian nation since July. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/6/poor-folks-punch-holes-in-flood-barriers/