there are 81 elephants have evacuated here because of the flood in ayutthaya.tthaya is home to a world heritage site. elephants are one of the big tourist attractions. but for the last two months, many of the animals have been stranded at shelters. they're surrounded by water, up two meters deep transport in the area has been disrupted. caretakers give each elephant 250 kilograms of sugar cane, banas anfruit every day. but it has fallen to just 150 gr ny othe giantnimals are eit. >> translator: look where the hip bone is, you can tell it's nothing but skin and bone. the chest, shoulders and forehead are also skinny. >> reporter: health problems are mounting. this 25-year-old female has injured her right eye, it's infected with bacteria. her handlers clean and disinfect the wound. but the vet is worried that withouroper treatment, the eye could go permanently blind. translator: i feelorry them. t thers thing i can doo help reporter: elephan are more than tourist attractions in thailand. for centuries, they've been revered as animals unlike any other. that makes

so we came with thi project to help revive ayutthaya. >> reporter: ayutthaya was hit by massive floods in early october. vast areas of the city were submerged and more than 300 temples were under water. the monks at one temple were unable to ask for alms. they also lost income because tourists stopped coming to the city. >> translator: floodwaters never entered the temple grounds. during the past century. that's why we didn't have a prevention system. >> reporter: after a month of flooding, waters have started to recede in most parts of the city. but some riverside areas in ayutthaya are still in danger, as they face a threat of ravaging floods. in these places, the suffering of the residents is far from over. thursday night was a sacred night for the thai people. one of the nation's most colorful festivals was held amidst the ongoing crisis. the festival allows people to pay their respects and express gratitude to the goddess of the river. kneeling by the river, they also ask the goddess to sweep away all their bad luck and worldly concerns. >> translator: my hometown and workplace ha

so we came up with this project to help revive ayutthaya. >> reporter: ayutthaya was hit by massive floods in early october. vast areas of the city were submerged and more than 300 temples were under water. the monks at one temple were unable to ask for alms. they also lost income because tourists stopped coming to the city. >> translator: floodwaters never entered the temple grounds. during the past century. that's why we didn't have a prevention system. >> reporter: after a month of flooding, waters have started to recede in most parts of the city. but some riverside areas in ayutthaya are still in danger, as they face a threat of ravaging floods. in these places, the suffering of the residents is far from over. thursday night was a sacred night for the thai people. one of the nation's most colorful festivals was held amidst the ongoing crisis. the festival allows people to pay their respects and express gratitude to the goddess of the river. kneeling by the river, they also ask the goddess to sweep away all their bad luck and worldly concerns. >> translator: my hometown and workplace ha

. >> meanwhile, drainage has begun at an industrial park in a ayutthaya industrial park, 70 kilometers north of bangkok. workers began draining the park on monday. it is one of eight industrial parks inundated by flood water in thailand. the park operates over 150 japanese firms including honda and nikon. the park has been flooded since october 8th. parts of the area remain under more than two meters of water, but the level is receding outside the complex wall, allowing drainage work to begin. >> translator: this industrial park has provided many jobs and sustained the economy. it's essential that we restore it. >> many japanese firms shifted their operations to japan or elsewhere in thailand, as prospects for an early resumption of operations seem remote. >>> as the crisis drags on the impact of thailand's precious animal heritage is also mounting. the well-being of the iconic elephant is now under threat. nhk world's wayawan hanwiwan reports. >> reporter: these elephants are taking shelter on high ground, several kilometers from the submerged city center of ayutthaya. now the elephan

. >> this is one of the world heritage sites in ayutthaya. the color of bricks become paled because they were under floodwater. >> unesco officials were able to visit the ruins with thai researchers on thursday, now that the floodwater has finally receded after more than a month. >> it's still early to assess, you know, what actual damages have been. probably the main concern is damage to foundations. because of the water that under which they've been submerged. >> the ruins stand in low-lying area and have been flooded in the past. but they have never been under water for such a long period of time. later this month, unesco plans to start a detailed analysis of the damage and will undertake repairs with the help of specialists from japan, italy and other countries. >>> the japanese government on thursday ordered fukushima prefecture to suspend rice shipments from one district of the region. radioactive cesium higher than allowable levels have been detected in rice grown there after the nuclear accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power

the firm makes semiconductors and other parts for autos and electronic anally in ayutthaya. however its plant has been shut down for over a month due to the flooding. >> translator: our products are supported by the skills of experienced thai workers. the products cannot be made in japan without them. >> many japanese firms in thailand are p dispatch their workers to japan. the visas will be issued as early as next week. >>> let's now get you a recap of the latest market figures. that's a all for this hour in business. now it's back to shery. >> ai, thanks. >>> it's been eight months since the march 11th disaster in northeastern japan, but there is still a long way to go before full-fledged reconstruction can be carried out. police say close to 20,000 people have been confirmed dead or remain missing as of november 10th. 15,770 people are confirmed dead, and 3,648 remain missing in the devastated prefectures o miyagi, iwate and fukushima. reconstruction plans for the disaster-hit areas have been drawn up by eight local governments in iwate, and seven in miyagi. the governmen

. >>> this is one of the most flood-ravaged parts of thailand, ayutthaya, thailand. the only way to get around is by boat. it houses the likes of sony, cannon, household name factories. their factories are still submerged but waters are finally receding. they are moving electronic components to higher ground when they can. the military is moving to cleanup mode as well, stacking sandbags as they prepare to dry out. pumping out all of that water could take weeks and weeks. >>> it's all over for bangkok as well. the city's governor says 14 floodgates are not working properly in the western neighborhoods. the central business district has largely been spared, remains dry for now. other parts of bangkok are under water. authorities say at least 506 people have died in three months of flooding across thailand. >>> some of the country's most popular tourist destinations like bangkok's main shopping areas and the country's beach resorts have remained dry. tell that to the tourists staying away from thailand in drove, cancelling hotel bookings and airline flights. i'm joined

this is in ayutthaya, which was once home to kings and is now a tourist attraction with over 100 temples. the temples were once under water and they're afraid that the foundations of the temples are damaged by being soaked in two months' of rain water. but they brought the elephants in. because they're almost like four-wheel drive. they can get where trucks can't. the trucks will get stuck in the mud, the elephants can walk through and get into narrow spaces. they're being used to remove a lot of the dead wood and dead trees left behind. the elephants are also a sign of hope. >> i've never seen an elephant doing work like that before. >> if you look at their faces, they actually look really happy about it. >> do you think they pay the elephants in peanuts? >> yeah. circus peanuts. >> those candy ones? >> they're awful. >>> steven, i think you're going to like this app. it's really cool and it was made by a company called move job. they're a very popular winter clothing superstore in michigan and illinois. this is the moosejaw x-ray app. you go to their online catalog or you can have the

liz neisloss, cnn, ayutthaya, thailand. >>> coming up next on the show, beautiful game, ugly businessfifa's president seth blatter causes a football racism row. it's another trofrt the football body could do without these days. important phone call i mad. when i got my medicare card, i realized i needed an aarp... medicare supplement insurance card, too. medicare is one of the great things about turning 65, but it doesn't cover everything. in fact, it only pays up to 80% of your part b expenses. if you're already on or eligible for medicare, call now to find out how an aarp... medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company, helps cover some of the medical expenses... not paid by medicare part b. that can save you from paying up to thousands of dollars... out of your own pocket. these are the only medicare supplement insurance plans... exclusively endorsed by aarp. when you call now, you'll get this free information kit... with all you need to enroll. put their trust in aarp medicare supplement insurance. plus you'll get this free guide to understandi