Homes flooded, roads submerged: Bangkok declares disaster over heavy rain
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Stranded vehicles in Phetchaburi Road in Bangkok on Sept 26. Almost continuous rain since the afternoon of Sept 24 has swelled Bangkok’s network of canals, sending murky water into surrounding homes and shops.
PHOTO: AFP
- Bangkok declared a flood disaster after nearly 300mm of rain over two days caused severe flooding, submerging homes, shops, and roads, with residents struggling to move and businesses closing.
- Authorities activated special powers, operate pumps at full capacity, and set up shelters for nearly 1,000 people; the governor expects floodwaters to drain in two to three days if rain stops.
- September rainfall was unusually high, raising concerns about increased extreme weather due to climate change, with flooding also affecting 21 provinces in Thailand and causing one death.
AI generated
BANGKOK – The authorities in Bangkok declared a flood disaster across the Thai capital on Sept 26 after almost 48 hours of heavy rain left homes, shops and roads waterlogged and residents wading through deep water.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cut short a trip to London to return home after almost 300mm of rain fell between the afternoon of Sept 24 and the morning of Sept 26, according to officials.
“The water keeps coming in. It’s hard to go out now. It’s like at my waist level now,” said Somkid Pheuk-ngam, 67, a vendor who lives near a canal just north of central Bangkok.
“I cannot go anywhere. I have been closing my shop for two days now,” she told AFP.
Bangkok is no stranger to wet weather and September is the peak of the rainy season, but several residents said it felt worse than usual.
“I feel like in all the many years I’ve lived here, I’ve never encountered anything like this, where it rains continuously for days,” said 63-year-old resident Anutin Meechamnan.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) declared a disaster for all of the city’s 50 districts, a move that gives local organisations special powers to act.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on the afternoon of Sept 26 that the situation had “stabilised”, adding: “If more rainwater doesn’t fall in the area, it will be solved.”
“If the rain stops, it is expected that it will take two to three days to drain the flood water,” he said in an update broadcast on social media.
Temporary shelters
Almost continuous rain since the afternoon of Sept 24 has swelled Bangkok’s network of canals, sending murky water into surrounding homes, restaurants, shops and alleyways.
“Our problem is that the canals are full,” Chadchart said. “We are cooperating with nearby provinces and trying to drain water out through other sides, minimising the amount that flows into Bangkok.”
Once dubbed the “Venice of the East”, Bangkok is built on former marshland and rests about 1.5m above sea level.
The BMA earlier said the city’s pumping stations were operating at full capacity, pumping some 1,200 cubic m per second combined.
AFP reporters saw residents wading or pushing their motorcycles through high waters in several districts of eastern Bangkok, while on one major road, parked cars were partially submerged.
In Bang Bua district, a woman tried to salvage goods from her shop as flood waters reached her thighs.
Khem Amnueilaph, an office worker who lives in Suan Luang district in eastern Bangkok, said the water in his neighbourhood was “higher than knee level”.
“My house is new so it was elevated, but some old houses near the water have already flooded,” the 36-year-old told AFP by telephone.
“I have food in my stock for two to three days, but I may have to wade through the flood water for food later,” he said, adding: “I have no idea how to get to work on Monday.”
Empty shelves
Some convenience stores had empty shelves by lunchtime as residents raced to buy essentials.
Chadchart said at least 13 major roads were flooded but urged residents not to worry about potential food shortages, stressing: “The public doesn’t have to be panicked.”
He said around 980 people were staying in temporary shelters, while the authorities had transferred 36 bedridden people to hospitals. The city has also prepared one million sandbags.
September has been wetter than usual, according to figures from Bangkok’s drainage and sewage department.
The capital recorded 487mm of rain between Sept 1 and 25, compared with an average of almost 269mm for the same period from 1991-2020.
Scientists warn that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.
Flooding was also reported on Sept 26 across 21 provinces in Thailand, with one fatality, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
It said more rain was expected into Sept 27.
Widespread deluges across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes. AFP