Bangkok floodwaters begin to ease after torrential rains affect 700,000 people

BANGKOK (AP) — Floodwaters in Thailand ’s capital were slowly receding on Monday after continuous rainfall over the weekend, although some neighborhoods and major roads remained inundated.

Rain continued intermittently, but Bangkok city officials said conditions had improved enough to accelerate drainage efforts. Water levels in four main canals had risen too high over the weekend to take in runoff from surrounding communities.

More rain was forecast across much of Thailand, although Bangkok was expected to receive less.

The weekend flooding affected 329,000 households, or about 700,000 people, the Bangkok Flood Control Center reported, according to Deputy Gov. Tavida Kamolvej.

Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt declared a flood emergency Saturday across all 50 city districts, although some were relatively unscathed. He said authorities were prioritizing 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 donned white rain boots 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.

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 some 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.”

The flood also has had knock-on effects, including panic buying of food, disrupted supply chains for food and other items, and staffing problems at various enterprises whose employees were unable to get to their jobs.

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport said baggage from arriving and departing flights was piling up because of “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 airport said.

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. 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.