Bangkok declares disaster across all 50 districts as heavy rain triggers severe flooding

BANGKOK, Sept 26 : Authorities in Bangkok declared a disaster across all 50 districts of the Thai capital on Saturday after three consecutive days of heavy rain caused widespread flooding.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said nearly 300 millimetres (11.8 inches) of rain had fallen since Thursday afternoon, with the eastern parts of the city among the worst affected.

“The rain keeps falling and we are doing our best. We are trying to pump the water out, but the water in canals are full,” Chadchart said on social media, warning that residents living near canals faced particular risks.

Floodwaters inundated roads and entered homes and restaurants along Bangkok’s canals, forcing residents in several neighborhoods to wade through knee-high water. In the On Nut area, locals were seen filling sandbags as floodwaters spread across roads.

“The water keeps coming in. It’s hard to go out now. It’s like at my waist level now,” said 67-year-old vendor Somkid Pheuk-ngam, who lives near a canal north of central Bangkok.

Somkid said she had been forced to close her shop for two days and described the flooding as worse than the devastating 2011 floods, which killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.

Motorbike rider Samruay Nakkamnueng said he found the street outside his home flooded when he woke up to go to work.

“I worried if my motorbike would be able to wade through floodwater this much,” he said.

The disaster designation gives local organisations greater authority to take emergency action as authorities work to drain floodwaters. Chadchart urged residents to move vehicles to higher ground and advised bedridden patients who rely on life-saving medical equipment to consider staying in hospitals temporarily.

Bangkok’s public transport authority has offered residents free use of MRT “park and ride” facilities to store their vehicles until October 2.

Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation warned that a low-pressure system would continue affecting eastern, northeastern and central parts of the country through Sunday, raising the risk of flash floods, forest runoff, mudslides and river overflow.