Thai soldiers help residents crossing a strong stream of floodwaters in Pathum Thani province.Damir Sagolj/REUTERS
A girls sits in a small boat after being evacuated from flooded area in Ayutthaya province.Damir Sagolj/REUTERS
A boy wades through a flooded residential area in Pathum Thani province October 14, 2011. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra tried to reassure residents of Bangkok on Friday that the capital should largely escape the flooding that has covered a third of the country since July and caused damage of at least $3 billion.Damir Sagolj/REUTERS
A Thai mahout rides his elephant on a flooded street in Ayutthaya province October 14, 2011.Sukree Sukplang/REUTERS
Residents sit outside their flooded house, along the Chao Praya river, in central Bangkok, October 14, 2011.Dario Pignatelli/REUTERS
An aerial view of a flooded area in Pathum Thani province, on the outskirts of Bangkok.Chaiwat Subprasom/REUTERS
A woman sits on the stairs of her flooded home in Pathum Thani province.Damir Sagolj/REUTERS
A Thai mahout rides his elephant playing in a flooded area of Thailand's Ayutthaya province. At least 283 people have been killed around Thailand by heavy monsoon rain, floods and mudslides since late July and 26 of its 77 provinces are inundated, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.Sukree Sukplang/REUTERS
A Thai soldier looks at a water gate as he and his colleagues were assigned to protect the property in Pathum Thani province, central Thailand. Fear and confusion gripped Bangkok on Friday as residents grappled with mixed messages over whether Thailand's worst floods in decades would overwhelm the intricate defenses of the low-lying metropolis of 9 million people.Apichart Weerawong/AP
Residents travel on a boat at a flooded street in Ayutthaya province.Sukree Sukplang/REUTERS
A man is seen inside his flooded souvenir shop near Wat Pho temple, along the Chao Praya river, in central Bangkok.Dario Pignatelli/REUTERS
Buddhist monks splash each other with water as they paddle through a flooded area of Pathum Thani province.Damir Sagolj/REUTERS
A man with his daughter swim to catch a truck through flooded streets in Ayutthaya province.Sukree Sukplang /REUTERS
People and their belongings are evacuated from a flooded area in Ayutthaya province.Damir Sagolj/REUTERS