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Floodwaters in Bangkok are receding after torrential rains affected 700,000 people, with at least eight deaths reported, while Myanmar and Cambodia also battle severe flooding.
BANGKOK - Floodwaters in Thailand's capital began to ease on Monday after torrential rains over the weekend affected about 700,000 people, though some neighborhoods and major roads remained inundated.
Bangkok city officials said conditions had improved enough to accelerate drainage efforts, even as rain continued intermittently. Water levels in four main canals had risen too high over the weekend to accept runoff from surrounding communities. More rain was forecast across much of Thailand, although Bangkok was expected to receive less than other regions. The flooding killed at least eight people, according to reports, and Thai media said at least 10 deaths occurred nationwide.
Bangkok Flood Emergency Declared Across Districts
The Bangkok Flood Control Center reported that the weekend flooding affected 329,000 households, or about 700,000 people, according to Deputy Gov. Tavida Kamolvej. Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt declared a flood emergency Saturday across all 50 city districts, although some were relatively unscathed.
Authorities prioritized assistance for vulnerable residents, including older people and those with disabilities, by delivering supplies or evacuating them. City officials said nearly 7,000 people were staying in shelters. Neighborhoods in eastern Bangkok were hit hardest. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul walked barefoot with rolled-up trousers on Sunday night to inspect a heavily flooded housing estate in Bang Kapi district and help distribute relief supplies.
Water was about knee-deep Monday near a train station and shopping mall in Bang Kapi. Despite intermittent downpours, shoppers waded through the water carrying bags, backpacks and boxes of groceries. Some traveled to and from the station in a small boat provided by the mall. For Naowarat Supanikorn, a 55-year-old maid who shares a single-story house with three dogs and six cats, the flooding was more than an inconvenience.
Flooding Disrupts Life in Bang Kapi
She said she realized at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday that water was seeping into her home.
"I had to take my dogs and cats out," she said. "I had to leave them with my neighbor. I have taken them back today because they said the sun would come out, but it looks like the rain will come back.
" She said the flooding in her neighborhood reached above her hips at its highest, and had since dropped to about knee-level. She said the bigger problem is that she has lost her job working at a condominium.
"My workplace also said if I can't come to work, they're happy to take my resignation. So I thought, that's fine, I'll quit.
" To try to generate some income, she bought supplies to make food she can sell streetside, but business is slow in the flooded conditions. "It's stressful. If the bills come, I'd be cooked, because I don't have work now. If I have to pay for water or electricity now it would be bad," she said.
"I'm not worried about me but I'm worried about my pets. I've lived with them my whole life. They're my priority. It's ok if I don't have work and starve myself, but I'd like help for my pets.
Flooding Knocks On Business and Travel
" The flood also had knock-on effects, including panic buying of food, disrupted supply chains for food and other items, and staffing problems at enterprises whose employees were unable to get to their jobs. The Thai air force announced it was sending 69 ground personnel to Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport to help clear a backlog of passenger luggage caused largely by airport workers being unable to get to work.
"This deployment is a vital mission to care for, assist, and facilitate travelers - including tourists from around the world - ensuring smooth operations and preventing delays in ground services, thereby upholding the nation's positive image," the air force said. The airport previously attributed the baggage pileup to insufficient staffing to support ground handling operations and problems with some baggage carts.
The disruptions delayed some departures and forced arriving passengers to wait longer than usual for their luggage, with baggage from several flights still undelivered. The government declared special holidays on Monday and Tuesday for state offices. It advised state enterprises, financial institutions, private businesses and hospitals to determine whether they needed to remain open. Thailand's meteorological agency forecast heavy to very heavy rain across several parts of the country.
More Heavy Rain Forecast Across Region
It warned residents, particularly in northern, central and eastern regions, to prepare for possible flash floods, river overflows, forest runoff and landslides, especially near waterways, foothills and low-lying areas. In neighboring Myanmar, at least 10 people were killed and dozens were missing after heavy rain triggered widespread flooding and landslides in the southern coastal region of Tanintharyi, local media reported. Dawei township recorded 346 millimeters (13.62 inches) of rain Monday, breaking an 80-year-old record.
Myanmar's Meteorology Department warned that conditions could worsen as the storm front moved closer to Yangon. Flash floods struck at least 10 provinces in Cambodia, affecting 44,889 families and forcing nearly 4,000 people to evacuate, according to disaster management officials. The agency overseeing the archaeological park in Siem Reap province, home to the centuries-old Angkor temple complex, said it was operating water gates and diversion systems to reduce the risk of flooding.
Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia contributed to this report. Jintamas Saksornchai, The Associated Press
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CTVToronto:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
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