Sandbags surround temples in Ayutthaya on October 13, 2011 in an attempt to keep the rising waters out.
Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- As the death toll climbed Monday from flooding in Southeast Asia, officials beefed up flood prevention measures to protect Thailand's capital from rising water.
Millions have been affected by the flooding in Thailand and Cambodia, which has been hit by an above-average monsoonal rainy season. As of Monday, 269 people were dead in Thailand and four were missing, according to the country's Flood Relief Operations Command. Another 207 people were dead in Cambodia, according to the country's state-run news agency AKP.
Patients in two hospitals in Thailand's Ayutthaya and Nakhon Sawan provinces had to be evacuated after water reached the first floor, the flood operations command said.
Multiple tropical systems have moved over the area in recent weeks, enhancing monsoon rains and leading to the flooding. Another low pressure system is forecast to move into Southeast Asia on Tuesday and Wednesday, said Brandon Miller, senior meteorologist for CNN International.
On Monday, Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra ordered canal dredging and reinforcement of flood-prevention embankments to protect Bangkok, state-run news agency MCOT reported. In addition, three new flood-prevention walls were being built at two locations in Rangsit, in northern Bangkok, and in Taling Chan, in the western part of the city.
The government needs another 1.5 million sandbags, MCOT reported. The prime minister called on the private sector to supply them, but said the government will buy all the needed sandbags by Wednesday, the news agency said.
The Rojana Industrial Park has halted operations for the time being, director Amara Charoengitwattanagun told MCOT, and the facility may be further damaged if the flooding worsens. One plant in the park, Single Point Parts, evacuated all workers from the premises and built flood prevention embankments around its building, according to MCOT.
Meanwhile, Honda Thailand said on its website Monday that its plants in the Rojana park are flooded and will be closed until at least until the end of the week.
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A reclining Buddha in the ancient city of Ayutthaya falls foul of rising waters on October 13, 2011.
Fifteen elephants are stranded on top of Ayutthaya's Royal Elephant Kraal from the floods.
An aerial picture shows a flooded temple in the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya on October 11, 2011.
A Thai boy pushes a boat with his dog in floodwaters in suburban Bangkok, on October 11, 2011.
Elephants stand in low-lying floodwater as they eat grass on the side of a street in Ayutthaya on October 12, 2011
A tuk tuk (taxi) driver tries navigating the flooded streets in Ayutthaya on October 12, 2011.
This aerial picture shows cars submerged in floodwaters at a Honda car factory outside Ayutthaya on October 11, 2011.
Thai mahouts ride their elephants through the flooded Ayutthaya streets on October 10, 2011.
A Thai employee of a riverside restaurant sits idle as water from a river floods low-lying areas of Bangkok on October 4, 2011.
One of a number of UNESCO World Heritage sites in Ayutthaya province is inundated by floodwaters on October 10, 2011.
Thai residents transport a scooter over floodwaters along a street in the city of Ayutthaya on October 6, 2011.
Thai residents stand in floodwaters along a street in the city of Ayutthaya on October 6, 2011.
Buddhist monks walk through high water as floods inundate Ayutthaya province on October 10, 2011.
An elderly woman is evacuated as flooding causes havoc on October 9, 2011 in Ayutthaya, Thailand.
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