Bangkok Battles Widespread Flooding After Citywide Disaster Declaration
Bangkok authorities declared a disaster across all 50 districts of the Thai capital on Saturday after three consecutive days of heavy rain triggered widespread flooding, a designation that grants local organizations expanded authority to respond.
The declaration came after the city’s governor said nearly 300 millimeters of rain had fallen since Thursday afternoon. Somkid Pheuk-ngam, a 67-year-old vendor living near a canal just north of central Bangkok, told AFP the water keeps coming in and it’s hard to go out now, describing the flooding near her home as roughly waist-high. She said she’s had to keep her shop closed for two days, and while flooding isn’t unusual for her area, she believes this round is worse than the devastating 2011 floods that killed more than 500 people nationwide and damaged millions of homes.
The rain has fallen almost continuously since Thursday afternoon, flooding roads and swelling the city’s canals, sending water into homes and restaurants along the waterways, according to AFP reporters on the ground. Motorbike rider Samruay Nakkamnueng, in the Ari neighborhood, said he woke up to find the street in front of his house was flooded, and worried whether his motorbike would even make it through water that deep. Further southeast in the On Nut neighborhood, AFP reporters saw residents wading through knee-high floodwater along roads and filling sandbags to bring home.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the eastern part of the city has been hit hardest and warned that more rain is on the way. Writing on social media, he said crews are doing their best to pump water out even as the canals themselves are already full, adding that every canal is now filled and that people living near them face the greatest risk. Chadchart urged bedridden patients who depend on life-saving medical equipment to consider staying temporarily in a hospital, and advised residents to move their cars to higher ground. The city’s public transport authority is offering free access to MRT train park-and-ride car parks for vehicle storage through October 2.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation warned of low pressure systems affecting eastern, northeastern and central Thailand through Sunday, cautioning of risks including flash floods, forest runoff, mudslides and river overflow.
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