( CNN ) -- These satellite photos taken before and after recent floods in Thailand show how the landscape has been transformed . The first slide contrasts two identical areas of Southeast Asia taken on November 12 2008 and November 1 2011 . Captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA 's Terra satellite , the images show Thailand ( left ) , Cambodia ( middle ) and Vietnam ( far right ) . One hundred kilometers north of the Thai capital , Bangkok lies the historic city of Ayutthaya . Founded in the 14th century on the confluence of three rivers -- the Chao Phraya , the Lopburi and the Pasak -- it was an important trade center , once known as the `` Venice of the East . '' After the rains , baby elephant brings hope . Today , that old moniker takes on a new meaning . Streets have become small rivers with surrounding farmland and floodplains submerged as images taken in July and October this year by NASA 's Advanced Land Imager graphically illustrate . The International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) estimates that around 200,000 hectares of farmland have been affected by the floods across the country . The urban economy has also been thrown into flux with an estimated 1,000 factories affected . The country is a manufacturing hub for hundreds of electronics companies ; the IUCN expects total economic losses from the disaster to exceed $ 3 billion . Thailand floods could create laptop shortage . On the northern outskirts of Bangkok , the Don Muang Airport -- the city 's old international airport which now handles mostly domestic flights -- closed at the end of October after its runways became inundated with water . Perversely , Bangkok 's new international Suvarnabhumi Airport ( opened in 2006 ) occupies an area called Nong Ngu Hao ( meaning Cobra Swamp ) which used to be a floodplain . It is protected by a dike and remains open . The IUCN says natural floodplains are important in storing water during floods and in combination with wetlands and natural river channels can limit the impact of flooding . `` It 's a classic case of urbanization being done blindly , '' says Ganesh Pangare , head of IUCN 's water program in Asia . `` The drains have gone , the floodplains have gone , the plants that soak up the water have gone . This is a wake-up call to unplanned growth , '' he said .
Images from NASA satellites show how the floods in Thailand have inundated the land . Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos: Don Muang Airport in Bangkok closed at end of October as runway became submerged .