Floodwaters Enter Bangkok Airport

BANGKOK—Thailand's flood crisis escalated Tuesday as fast-rising floodwaters began surging into one of Bangkok's two airports, shutting down commercial flights there and adding to the growing sense of gloom permeating the city as supplies of key goods such as bottled water, rice and noodles ran low.
Read More

Economic Impact From Thai Flood Spreads

News that floodwaters breached a wall of sandbags surrounding the Don Muang airport in the north of the city, which is used for domestic flights, appeared to be a tipping point for many residents, who rushed to city-center supermarkets to stock up on water and basic essentials only to find empty shelves due to earlier rounds of panic-buying. For several days, convenience stories and major outlets have displayed messages apologizing for the way the worst floods in half a century have disrupted their supply chains, leaving many people wondering whether they should leave the city until the situation improves and worsening the crisis facing recently-elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

"I have a list of things my wife told me to buy, but I can't find any of it here," said Noppol Wannasri, 41 years old. "Perhaps we should get out of town for a while."

Even though most areas of Bangkok are still dry, many residents appear to be thinking the same thing. After local airlines Nok Air and Orient Thai said they were suspending flights at Don Muang airport until the end of the month at least, a surge of travelers descended on the remaining airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport to the east of the city center, which has international and domestic flights. Thai television reports showed long queues of people checking in to fly to parts of the country less affected by the chronic flooding or inquiring about tickets.

The government's flood relief center—based at the Don Muang airport—meanwhile issued evacuation alerts to more areas around Bangkok Tuesday as the city's flood defenses come under increasing pressure. The latest area to be evacuated was Muang Ake, just north of Bangkok in Pathum Thani province.

China provides aid to Cambodian flood survivors as a food shortage continues, while Thailand braces for a deluge of water from the north. Video: Reuters.

Ms. Yingluck's government Tuesday declared a holiday from Thursday through Monday in affected provinces, including Bangkok, to help people get to grips with the extent of the crisis and called on private businesses not involved in the supply and production of key goods and services to do the same.

Financial institutions and the country's financial markets will remain open, Thailand's central bank said.

Seven of Bangkok's 50 districts have been declared to be at risk from flooding—with most oin the north and east of the city. Late on Monday, Bangkok city Gov. Sukhumbhand Paribatra warned people living in Bang Phlat to find safe places for their belongings beyond the reach of rising floodwaters after an overspill from the Chao Phraya River running through the city center breached a construction site for a new subway project.

The deluge since the onset of unusually heavy rains in late July has already killed at least 366 people, submerged an area roughly the size of Connecticut and shut down large chunks of Thailand's manufacturing base. The effects have rippled around the world, disrupting the supply of key components such as hard-disk drives and auto parts, potentially undermining Thailand's reputation as a pivotal—and reliable—cog in the global economy.

In the latest disruptions, Japanese digital-camera maker Canon Inc. revised downward its full-year outlook due to concerns about the impact of flooding in Thailand. Although Canon doesn't run its own camera plants here, its inability to secure supplies of key parts from flood-struck local companies is hampering its camera business. Despite ongoing efforts to broaden its range of suppliers, the company said it will inevitably suffer some negative impact toward the year-end shopping season.

Meanwhile, Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it has halted production in Malaysia due to parts supply disruptions caused by flooding in Thailand, in the latest sign of the spreading business impact of the disaster. Honda said in a statement it has yet to decide when to resume operations in Malaysia; one of its plants in Thailand already is submerged and the firm is one of the highest-profile victims of the crisis.

The Japanese car maker had scaled down production in Malaysia from Oct. 10 in an effort to avoid a complete halt in manufacturing operations in the country.

Bank of Thailand Gov. Prasarn Trairatvorakul said Tuesday that the severe flooding will likely drag down economic growth this year to below 3%, but reconstruction efforts in the coming year could boost growth in 2012 to around the 4% mark.

Write to James Hookway at james.hookway@wsj.com and Phisanu Phromchanya at phisanu.phromchanya@dowjones.com