Flooded Canals and Submerged Roads.. Floods Paralyze Bangkok

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Authorities in Bangkok announced on Saturday that the Thai capital is a disaster area due to flooding, after heavy rains lasting about 48 hours inundated roads and neighborhoods, filling the drainage network, forcing residents to leave their homes or wade through waters that reached thigh level in some areas.

According to Agence France-Presse, heavy rains began falling since Thursday afternoon, prompting the Bangkok administration to declare a disaster in all fifty districts of the capital, a measure that grants local authorities additional powers to deal with the situation.

In a later update, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt stated that the flooding situation has "stabilized," but he clarified that complete drainage of the water will take two to three days, provided no further rain falls.

He said in a live update broadcast on social media: "The situation is stable. If no additional rain falls in the area, the problem will be resolved."

The continuous rain has led to a rise in water levels in the extensive canal network that Bangkok is famous for, before the water flowed into homes, restaurants, shops, and alleys.

AFP reporters observed that main roads were submerged, while residents in various neighborhoods were forced to walk through water levels ranging from knee-deep to thigh-deep.

Somkid Buik Ngam, a 67-year-old vendor living near a canal in northern central Bangkok, said the water reached her waist level, adding that she closed her shop two days ago and cannot go anywhere.

Despite being accustomed to floods, she said that this time the situation seems worse to her than the floods of 2011, which swept through large areas of Thailand, claiming the lives of more than 500 people and damaging millions of homes.

Eastern Bangkok was among the most affected areas. The capital's governor said earlier on Saturday that "every canal is full," confirming that authorities are working to pump out the water as quickly as possible.

Later, water levels began to stabilize with the pumping stations operating at full capacity. The Bangkok administration stated that the stations collectively pump about 1,200 cubic meters of water per second.

Authorities have also prepared one million sandbags to distribute to residents and opened temporary shelters in several schools to accommodate those affected.

The Governor of Bangkok urged residents to stay at home as much as possible and asked them to move their cars to higher ground. The transport authority provided free 'Park and Ride' parking for subway trains to store cars until October 2.

Patients who are bedridden and rely on essential medical devices for life were also urged to consider temporarily moving to hospitals to avoid any potential service interruptions.

The floods come at the peak of the rainy season in Bangkok, but the recorded rainfall amounts this month have clearly exceeded normal levels.

Between the first and September 25, the capital recorded levels of 487 millimeters of rain, compared to an average of about 269 millimeters for the same period between 1991 and 2020, an increase of nearly 81% over the historical average.

According to the Associated Press, more than 84,000 people in 21 Thai provinces have been affected by the floods as of Saturday, with damage concentrated particularly in the central regions of the country. Authorities have also sent emergency warning messages to residents in the affected areas.

The Thai Meteorological Department warned of continued heavy rains across most of the country until Sunday, due to a strong low-pressure system over the central region and the strengthening of the southwest monsoon winds.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department also warned of the risks of flash floods, landslides, and river flooding in the eastern, northeastern, and central regions of Thailand.

Bangkok faces an additional challenge due to its geographical nature, as the city was built on land that was once swampy, with an elevation of only about 1.5 meters above sea level. Its extensive network of canals had previously earned it the nickname 'Venice of the East.'

With water levels stabilizing relatively, attention is now turning to the weather in the coming hours and days, as authorities confirm that the receding of the floods primarily depends on the cessation of rain, while the city needs two to three days to drain the large accumulated amounts.