Thousands of residents are rushing to leave the Thai capital Bangkok, which is braced for potentially severe flooding over the weekend.

The city's bus and train stations and many roads are jammed by crowds of people attempting to flee.

People in several northern districts of the capital - some of which are now 90% submerged by rising water - have been told they should evacuate immediately.

More than 360 people have died in Thailand's worst flooding in decades.

The crisis is an early test for Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who took office in August and has previously been criticised for failing to take the flood threat seriously enough.

"It's a crisis, because if we try to resist this massive amount of floodwater, a force of nature, we won't win," Ms Yingluck said.

"But if we allow it to flow freely then people in many areas are prepared."

Any lingering sense of complacency has long gone, says the BBC's Rachel Harvey in Bangkok.

'Food rationing'

Over the weekend the influx of run-off water from Thailand's inundated central plains is expected to combine with seasonal high tides to flood more parts of the capital.

Thai authorities have declared a five-day holiday, to run from Thursday through to Monday, in Bangkok and in 20 provinces affected by the flooding to allow residents to relocate.

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