Some residents of Bangkok have been told to evacuate as water further creeps into the city. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Nu Online News Service, Nov. 9, 2:57 p.m. EST
Thailand flooding that has forced evacuation of 650,000 people, killed more than 500 and destroyed homes has shut down manufacturing plants that provide supplies to companies in the United States, particularly in the automobile and computer industries, according to AIR Worldwide.
Two of the world’s largest car manufacturers, Honda and Toyota, have had severe disruption to their manufacturing processes, not just in Thailand but worldwide due to a lack of parts.
Thailand is responsible for the manufacturing of about a quarter of all hard disk drives produced for the global-computing industry. This round of flooding has raised fears of global supply shortages of hard disk drives for the lucrative Christmas season, AIR notes. Already prices for hard drives are reported to have increased by up to 180 percent.
According to the modeling company, the recent flooding is being described as among the worst in Thailand’s history, with some 6 million hectares (more than 14 million acres) of land affected. In the north and central plains, the damage has been predominantly to residential properties and to agriculture.
Flooding was at first confined to the north and northeast of the country but has steadily moved further into the central plains.
As of Nov. 7, 12 of the 50 districts of the capital were on the evacuation list with a further seven sub-districts on partial notice, AIR says. The commercial heart of the city, however, remains dry at present. Officials estimate that flood conditions in the Bangkok area are likely to continue for several more weeks.
