Thailand’s Bangkok declares flood disaster across city as thousands flee from homes

Entire Bangkok neighbourhoods were inundated on Saturday as the city government declared a flood disaster after the worst rains in years overwhelmed the Thai capital, submerging roads, cars and forcing thousands to leave their homes.Bangkok is flood-prone, especially during the monsoon season, but waters rarely linger for long. Nonetheless, the city’s drainage is notoriously ill-equipped to handle storm bursts as it struggles to cope with waters that have reached at least two feet (60cm) and are still rising.Over 48 hours of continuous rain have paralysed parts of Bangkok amid the intensifying, unpredictable extremes of the climate crisis. Rains have pounded the city since Wednesday, intensifying on Friday with no respite forecast until late Sunday.A van drives through floodwaters in the Pra Kanong district, a hodgepodge of markets, hotels, cafes and bars on the main Sukhumvit Road. Photo: Aidan JonesIn the Pra Kanong district, a hodgepodge of markets, hotels, cafes and bars on the main Sukhumvit Road, floodwaters dumped garbage through narrow alleyways where expensive villas stand alongside working-class shophouses and blocks of flats.“In all the years I’ve lived here I’ve never seen flooding this bad,” said Bangkok resident Narin Wernthaisong, who was wading through thigh-high water.He said the exception was 2011 when floods left 500 dead and the central part of the country submerged – including much of the capital – for weeks.“This time, it feels very unusual. The rain hasn’t been particularly heavy, yet there’s been a huge amount of water accumulating. It’s just sitting there, and there doesn’t seem to be anywhere for it to drain.”Employees stand next to bags at the entrance of a flooded 7-Eleven along Petchaburi road in Bangkok on Saturday. Photo: AFPMany flood-hit neighbourhoods were caught off guard after City Hall initially downplayed the potential for major floods, appearing to base its assessment on weather warnings that predicted continuous rain but not heavy storm downpours like those that caused widespread damage in 2011.The Bangkok-metropolitan-authority" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="209831" data-entity-type="organization">Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) has declared a disaster across all 50 districts.