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World

Thousands in shelters as Bangkok declares disaster over floods

Nearly 4,900 people have been evacuated and 52,000 households affected after days of heavy rain; residents say the water is higher than the 2011 floods.

By James Calloway · · 2 min read

Thousands of Bangkok residents awoke in shelters on Sunday after days of heavy rain inundated the Thai capital, prompting a disaster declaration across the city, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

Nearly 4,900 people have been evacuated to shelters and around 52,000 households are affected, the BMA said. More than 330 millimetres of rain fell in some areas between Thursday and Sunday, and water levels in Bangkok’s network of canals remained high, with authorities working to speed up drainage.

AFP journalists saw pedestrians in plastic rain ponchos wading through murky, knee-deep water, floating their belongings in plastic tubs, while flooding near some homes was at chest level. “People cannot get out of their homes. We are running out of food, so I came out to purchase some,” motorbike-taxi driver Aduenan Surorot, 30, told AFP outside a grocery store.

Residents said the floods were worse than the catastrophic 2011 deluges that killed more than 500 people. “Our house was underwater for about 30 hours,” said Kosin Nilset, 44, who lives along the Premprachakorn canal. “This time, the water level is higher than the 2011 flood.” Thidarat Silsuwan, 56, who stayed in her partially submerged house, said: “I have been sleeping on the table for two days now.”

Some residents complained that official warnings came too late. “We got an SMS alert from the disaster agency yesterday, but the water flooded in the night before,” said office worker Bandit Pankan. The prime minister’s office urged the public to avoid panic-buying and warned that price gouging was a criminal offence.

Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said several roads remained flooded but that drainage was being accelerated. Hundreds of schools will be closed on Monday. Flooding was also reported across 25 provinces, and more than 10,000 soldiers were deployed nationwide for flood relief.

Sources

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