BANGKOK, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Residents of Bangkok Wednesday braced for flooding as rising water from the north of the country made its way to the capital, officials said.
Meanwhile, areas around the Don Mueng airport reported heavy flooding and city roads and highways were closed to vehicles, the Bangkok Post reported.
The airport's cargo and passenger terminal buildings were under nearly 3 feet of water, authorities said.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the government's Flood Relief Operations Center would still operate from the airport but reiterated warnings to Bangkok residents.
"The power of the water is more than the flood barriers and water gates can withstand," she said
Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatrasaid said the water level in the Chao Phraya River was expected to rise to almost 8 feet above mean sea level, Thai news agency MCOT reported.
Drinking water, non-perishable foods and water purification tablets are running low in Bangkok, and the flooding is seen as a threat to Thailand's economic zone and tourism industry, the Christian Science Monitor reported.
As residents stocked up on food or made plans to leave, hundreds of prisoners were evacuated from prisons around the city, authorities said.
Corrections officials said nearly 800 inmates had been taken by bus to prisons on higher ground and preparations were being made to move up to 20,000 inmates if necessary, The New York Times reported.
Three months of heavy rain and flooding across Thailand have left at least 373 people dead, authorities said.
