Bangkok authorities have declared a flood disaster across the Thai capital after almost 48 hours of heavy rain left canals full, roads submerged, and residents knee-deep in water. The governor urged people to stay home after almost 300 millimetres of rain fell since Thursday afternoon. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he was cutting short a trip to London to return to Bangkok.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration declared a disaster for all the city's 50 districts, giving local organisations special powers to act. Residents were forced to wade through knee- or sometimes thigh-high water in several different neighbourhoods. Numerous major roads were also flooded, with motorbike rider Samruay Nakkamnueng saying he worried if his motorbike would be able to wade through the floodwater.
A vendor who lives near a canal just north of central Bangkok, Somkid Pheuk-ngam, 67, said the water level was at her waist and she couldn't go anywhere. She had been closing her shop for two days and said this flood was worse than the 2011 flood. Widespread deluges across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the east of the city was most impacted and warned more rain was forecast. He said the risk areas were those who live near canals, as every canal was now filled. The city's pumping stations were operating at full capacity, pumping some 1,200 cubic meters per second combined.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said that if there was no additional rainfall, the situation was expected to improve within six hours. Chadchart urged bedridden patients depending on life-saving medical equipment to consider a temporary stay in hospital and advised residents to move their cars to higher ground.
Municipal workers were busy trying to keep the roads clear, with Kwan Nobnom, one of a group wearing bright orange raincoats, saying their job was to make sure rubbish along the road didn't block the drains. September is the peak of the rainy season in Bangkok, but it has been wetter than usual, with 487 mm of rain recorded between September 1 and 25.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation warned of low pressure across eastern, northeastern, and central Thailand until Sunday, with a risk of flash floods, forest runoff, mudslides, and river overflow. Scientists warn that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up due to fossil fuel emissions.
Key points
- Almost 300 millimetres of rain fell in Bangkok since Thursday afternoon.
- The flood disaster was declared across all 50 districts of Bangkok.
- The city's pumping stations were operating at full capacity, pumping 1,200 cubic meters per second combined.
