Thailand floods expanded

The water has now reached the outskirts£¨ÍâΧ£© of the inner city, though the authorities are still battling to keep the commercial heart of Bangkok dry.
More than 500 people have lost their lives as a result of the floods.

Humanitarian organisations are now concerned about communities living among the increasingly dirty water.

More than a third of Bangkok's districts are now subject to full or partial evacuation orders, and still the water keeps coming.

Billions of cubic metres of water is gradually draining away from inundated£¨ºé·ºµÄ£© provinces north of the capital, passing through and around Bangkok as it flows to the sea.

City authorities have been given more pumps to try to force the floodwater through more quickly.

But most experts agree that several areas will remain submerged for at least another two weeks.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinwatra says she plans to set aside£¨³·Ïú£¬²µ»Ø£© more than $3bn for post-flood reconstruction.

But given the extent of the clean up that will be needed, many here are already predicting the final bill could be much higher.