Bangkok along with 20 provinces has been overcome by what could be the most terrible flooding in Thailand's history.

The Thai government has switched to a "crisis situation" and announced a five-day holiday as floodwaters continued to rise and submerged most parts of Bangkok.

The urban area's second airport has been ordered closed even as Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra issued a statement regarding the potential impact of the flooding, saying the water may overflow barriers, according to the Bangkok Post.

The public holidays would enable Bangkok's 12 million people to prepare for the floods which are now engulfing the city after drenching other parts of the country, killing nearly 360 people and causing extensive destruction to property.

A U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, which was supposed to deploy an airlift service for Thai flood victims, suddenly left after an assessment by the U.S. government said the flood situation in Thailand was not really serious.

The Bangkok Post reported that a government spokesman, Thani Thongphakdi, stated that the United States considered that present flood situation was not unsafe so the aircraft carrier found no reason to deploy helicopters.

He was responding to a report that the U.S. Navy had withdrawn several ships sent to help with relief efforts after receiving ''mixed'' messages from the Thai government.

The George Washington and other ships were sent to the area on Oct. 16 for potential disaster relief work as Thailand faced massive flooding from monsoon rains, navy spokesman Lt. Cmdr. John Perkins said.

Perkins said the U.S. Navy never received a formal request from the Thai government so the three-ship aircraft carrier group along with a fourth ship, the USS Kidd, were released and left the area on Friday, based on reports from the Bangkok Post.

An official from the U.S. Defense establishment allegedly said the navy withdrew its ships that were supposed to take part in rescue and relief operations due to confusing messages from the Thai government.