Bangkok floods force disaster declaration across all districts

THAILAND’S capital declared all 50 of its districts disaster zones after nearly 300 mm of rain pounded Bangkok over about 48 hours, flooding major roads and prompting the governor to urge residents to stay home on Saturday (Sep 26).

Rainfall since late Thursday dumped the equivalent of about 30 million cubic metres (cu m) of water on the city, with eastern Bangkok among the worst-hit areas, Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said in a statement on Saturday.

Some businesses remained shut because of the flooding.

Bangkok is operating pumps at their combined capacity of 1,200 cu m per second and has prepared one million sandbags.

Municipal schools are being opened as temporary shelters, while officials have been deployed to assist vulnerable residents, including bedridden patients, according to the statement.

The disaster declaration, effective Friday, expands the designated area from three districts to the entire capital, allowing authorities to coordinate assistance and deploy resources more quickly.

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State-owned Government Savings Bank closed some branches in Bangkok and surrounding areas on Saturday.

Chadchart urged people to avoid unnecessary travel because of the flooding on major roads. Conditions could begin improving within six hours if there is no further rainfall, he added.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is due to return to Bangkok on Sunday from an overseas trip, said in a Facebook post that he would soon visit the affected areas. BLOOMBERG