nytimes.com Bangkok's flood defenses continued to fall on Wednesday as floodwaters pressed farther into the city after forcing the closing of the domestic airport.

wsj.com As of early Wednesday, Silom Road, like much of Bangkok, remains bone dry. There were a few hearty out-of-towners who feared not the possible floods and seemed to be enjoying having the place to themselves.


A special updating roundup of news about the Bangkok floods, with relevant reports from national and international media.

thestandard.com.hk Tours to Thailand have been canceled for a week following the raising of a red travel alert in Hong Kong. Under a red alert - the second-highest level in a three-tier system - travelers are advised to avoid non-essential trips and to adjust their travel plans because of a ''significant threat.'' One tour operator said: "It shows the crisis may deepen.''

bangkokpost.com PM Yingluck Shinawatra warned Bangkok residents in all areas last night to brace for flooding after advancing runoff from the north of Bangkok surged into Don Muang airport.

blomberg.com ''There is a possibility that the water will run through the center of Bangkok,'' she said in a national address late yesterday. ''The severity of the flooding will depend on the altitude of each area.''

latimes.com Authorities suspended all flights from Don Muang, one of Bangkok's two main airports, after flood waters breached its northern perimeter, news agencies reported. Suvarnabhumi International Airport in eastern Bangkok was reported to be still operating.

nationmultimedia.com The Chao Phraya River appears set to overflow in Bangkok this weekend as rising seawater levels add to the woes of the country's raging flood crisis. To help current and potential flood victims in 21 affected provinces cope with the crisis, the Cabinet announced Thursday, Friday and next Monday as special holidays. Bangkok is among these provinces.

reuters Phuket, Pattaya and Samui, Thailand's biggest draw cards for tourists, have escaped the deluge that has swamped central and northern provinces, including the ancient city of Ayutthaya.

wsj.com Diplomats and representatives of countries affected by the floods have continued to downplay fears of food shortages across Southeast Asia.

afp The Pentagon praised Thailand's response to the country's worst flooding in decades and said the US stood ready to assist if needed. The statement came after Bangkok declined an offer of help from the US Navy, which had sent aircraft carrier the USS George Washington and other ships to the area to provide possible help with relief efforts.

bangkokpost.com The USS George Washington aircraft carrier left Thailand without deploying an air lift service for Thai flood victims because the US assessed that flood situations in the country are not serious enough, the Foreign Ministry said. Spokesman Thani Thongphakdi, who is also director-general of the Information Department, said that the US considered that present flood situations were not dangerous so its aircraft carrier could not deploy helicopters.

abc.net.au Burmese migrant workers escaping Thailand's worst floods in decades have been seized by the Thai authorities due to problems with their working address or legal status. Some Burmese migrant workers do not have any legal documents while others work legally but are not allowed to leave their province of employment. Many such people have been seized and deported.

pbs.org In general, Thailand has come together during this catastrophe, said GlobalPost correspondent Patrick Winn. ''You're hearing reports of looting, but they're really on a minor scale. And it has not turned into every man for himself in a way that it might in other societies. There's an admirable display of unity here.''

As they always do, Thai people have responded magnificently to this year's disastrous flooding. Fit and weak, young and old, men and women have heaved sandbags, helped neighbors, shared their food and given their time to help.

bangkokpost.com Off to the side, in the dark shadows, some few cold-hearted people have sold rice for three times its worth, withheld food from the hungry, demanded huge prices for necessary goods. These profiteers deserve a response.

reuters Ronnachit Mahattanapreut, senior vice president for finance at Central Plaza Hotel, said average occupancy at the group's hotels in the fourth quarter was now expected to be flat on the 60-65 percent seen in 2010: ''If the flooding lasts longer than expected, holidaymakers and those here for business meetings are going to have second thoughts about booking.''

Associated Press Sumet Jumsai, a prominent architect and scholar, says that Bangkok's early development "evolved with nature and not against it." But, he adds, by the early 1980s the city had become "an alien organism unrelated to its background and surroundings, a great concrete pad on partially filled land that ... must succumb to the flood every year."

afp Honda has halted production at its Malaysian plant due to disruption to its supply chain caused by devastating floods in neighboring Thailand.