Bangkok declares emergency zones after heavy rain floods roads
All 50 Bangkok districts have been declared emergency zones after 48 hours of heavy rain submerged roads and overwhelmed the city’s drainage system. Residents near canals were urged to move belongings upstairs or stay home. No deaths had been reported, while more rain was forecast through the week.
Bangkok has declared a flood emergency across all 50 of its districts after 48 hours of heavy rain left roads submerged and disrupted traffic, according to BBC News. Residents were urged to stay at home. People living near the capital’s canal network were advised to move their belongings to upper floors as water levels rose and several canals burst their banks.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said eastern parts of the city had been hardest hit. He said authorities were trying to pump water out, but the canals were full and residents close to them remained at risk. Somkid Pheuk-ngam, a 67-year-old resident north of central Bangkok, told AFP that water had reached waist level around her home and that she had closed her shop for two days.
She said conditions appeared worse than during the 2011 floods. No casualties had been reported in Bangkok from the latest flooding. The Thai Meteorological Service forecast more heavy rain through the week, although the low-pressure area driving recent downpours was expected to move towards central Thailand.
The flooding has overwhelmed drainage systems and caused major disruption on already congested roads. Authorities said the immediate concern was the continuing rain and the risk to communities near canals.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.