AFP

BANGKOK THAILAND’S premier moved on Friday to reassure Bangkok’s 12 million residents over a looming flood crisis, after an evacuation false alarm briefly sparked panic and people stockpiled food and water. Massive efforts are under way to prevent the densely populated capital from being inundated by the country’s worst floods in decades, which have wrecked havoc in north and central Thailand, leaving at least 289 people dead. Some residents in Bangkok’s northern suburbs rushed to move their belongings to higher ground late on Thursday after a government minister warned there was a risk of one-metre (3.3 feet) deep water owing to a burst dyke. But the authorities quickly backtracked, causing confusion among residents, some of whom have been piling sandbags outside their properties and buying flashlights, bottled water, instant noodles and other essential items. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Friday that the situation was under control. “The water level is stable and not increasing. So I would like to ask people not to panic,” she told reporters. In the Bangkok suburb of Saimai, local authorities received hundreds of phone calls from concerned residents after Thursday’s evacuation alert, district chief Nongpanga Boonpaksa told by telephone. “There were some frantic traffic jams in our district because people were trying to move their cars to higher places but the situation later returned to normal,” she said. About 110,000 people around the country have sought refuge in shelters in the face of the floods that have destroyed crops, inundated hundreds of factories and damaged the homes and livelihoods of millions of people. Currently 26 out of 77 provinces are affected, but conditions in inner Bangkok and at most of Thailand’s top tourist destinations are normal. The capital is bracing for a large amount of run-off water along with seasonal high tides this weekend that will make it harder for the flood waters to flow out to sea. Heavy rain drenched Bangkok again on Friday. But the authorities said they remained confident they could prevent serious flooding in the low-lying city. “Bangkok will definitely not be affected by floods,” said Justice Minister Pracha Promnog, who heads the government’s flood relief centre. “Bangkok is our capital city. We must fully protect it.” Sandbags have been piled in front of homes and businesses in preparation for possible inundation.