BANGKOK—The complex network of flood defenses shielding Thailand's capital from the worst floods in nearly 60 years mostly held Saturday as coastal high tides hit their peak. While the city center was protected, Bangkok's northern outskirts remained inundated along with much of the rest of the country.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the floodwaters that have wreaked havoc to provinces north of Bangkok in the last several weeks had started to recede, and she urged citizens to let the crisis take its course.
"We have the good news that the situation in the central region has improved as runoff water gradually decreased," she said in a radio address Saturday. "I thank people and urge them to be more patient in case this weekend is significant because of the high tide."
Fear gripped Bangkok early in the day as tides along the Gulf of Thailand crested at about 9 a.m. and pushed the city's main waterway, the Chao Phraya river, to its brink. Overflows so far have lightly inundated riverside streets from Chinatown to the famed Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
But the white-walled royal Grand Palace was dry, less than 24 hours after being ringed by ankle-deep water, and the landmark remained open to tourists. Many visitors carried parasols to protect themselves from the blistering sunshine.
Two more coastal high tides were set to swell the Chao Praya river early Saturday evening and Sunday morning, continuing to put pressure on the city's dikes and sluices. Still, the fact that there were no major breaches in the defenses with Saturday morning's expected peak encouraged many.
Yingluck said Saturday that the government had implemented a plan to accelerate the drainage rate and that water in the greater Bangkok area should recede by the first week of November.
Meanwhile, the streets of downtown Bangkok -- the country's financial heart -- were bone-dry and bustling with taxis, restaurant-goers and tourists snapping pictures. But the city remained in peril, as high tides along the gulf were expected to crest again late in the day, threatening to obstruct the flood runoff from the north. The government also is worried major barriers and dikes could break.
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