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A flood emergency has been declared across Bangkok after 48 hours of heavy rain submerged roads and disrupted traffic in the Thai capital, according to AFP.
Residents have been urged to stay at home, while people living near the city’s extensive canal network were advised to move their belongings to upper floors.
All 50 districts of Bangkok have been designated emergency zones. The rain is expected to continue into Sunday, raising concerns that more canals could overflow.
Canal water levels rise across Bangkok
Thunderstorms are common in Thailand at this time of year, but the recent extreme weather has overwhelmed Bangkok’s drainage system and caused severe traffic disruption on roads already known for congestion.
Somkid Pheuk-ngam, a 67-year-old resident living near a canal north of central Bangkok, told AFP that floodwater had reached waist level around her home and forced her to close her shop for two days.
She said water levels appeared to be worse than during the nationwide flooding in 2011, when hundreds of people were killed in an extreme weather event that lasted three months. No casualties have so far been reported in Bangkok in the latest flooding.
More rain forecast
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the eastern part of the city had been hit hardest. He said authorities were pumping water out, but warned that the canals were full and that residents living nearby faced the greatest risk.
The Thai Meteorological Service has forecast further heavy rain through the week. The low-pressure system responsible for the recent downpours is expected to move towards central Thailand.
