Bangkok authorities declared a flood disaster across the Thai capital Saturday after nearly 48 hours of torrential rain overwhelmed canals, submerged roads and forced residents to wade through waist-deep water.
Bangkok Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt urged residents to remain at home after nearly 300 millimeters (11.8 inches) of rain fell, while Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul cut short a trip to London to return to Thailand and oversee the response.
"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 living near a canal north of central Bangkok.
"I cannot go anywhere. I have been closing my shop for two days now,” she told Agence France-Presse (AFP), saying flooding was common in the area but that "I think this time is worse than the 2011 flood.”
The devastating 2011 floods killed more than 500 people across Thailand and damaged millions of homes, leaving large parts of the country under water for months.
Chadchart said midafternoon Saturday that the situation had "stabilized,” 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 floodwater,” he said in an update broadcast on social media.
Temporary shelters
Almost continuous rain since Thursday afternoon has swollen Bangkok’s network of canals, sending murky water into surrounding homes, restaurants, shops and alleyways.
Chadchart said at least 13 roads were also flooded, and AFP reporters saw residents in several neighborhoods forced to wade through high water.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration declared a disaster for all 50 districts of the city, a move that gives local organizations special powers to act.
But the governor urged residents not to worry about potential food shortages caused by blocked roads, stressing that "the public don’t have to panic.”
Chadchart said around 980 people were staying in temporary shelters, while authorities had transferred 36 bedridden people to hospitals.
"I woke up to go to work and the street in front of my house was flooded,” said motorbike rider Samruay Nakkamnueng in the Ari neighborhood.
"I worried if my motorbike would be able to wade through this much floodwater.”
In the On Nut neighborhood, an AFP reporter saw locals filling sandbags to take home to protect their homes and businesses.
Canals are full
Flooding was worst in the east of the city and along the canals, and Chadchart urged residents to move their belongings to higher ground.
"Our problem is that the canals are full,” Chadchart said in his afternoon update.
"We are cooperating with nearby provinces and trying to drain water out through other sides, minimizing the amount that flows into Bangkok.”
Once dubbed the "Venice of the East,” the city is built on former marshland and sits about 1.5 meters (5 feet) above sea level.
The BMA earlier said the city’s pumping stations were operating at full capacity, pumping about 1,200 cubic meters per second combined.
Municipal workers were also busy Saturday trying to keep the roads clear.
"Our job is to make sure rubbish along the road doesn’t block the drains, so the water can drain away quickly,” said Kwan Nobnom, one of a group wearing bright orange raincoats.
"We thought this year would be dry, so we didn’t expect the flooding to be this bad.”
September is the peak of the rainy season in Bangkok, but it has been wetter than usual, according to figures from the drainage and sewage department.
The capital recorded 487 millimeters of rain between Sept. 1 and 25, compared with an average of nearly 269 millimeters for the same period from 1991 to 2020.
Scientists warn that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to warm because of fossil fuel emissions.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation warned of low pressure across eastern, northeastern and central Thailand through Sunday.