Bangkok remained on alert Sunday after heavy rains flooded large parts of the Thai capital, prompting authorities to declare a disaster in all 50 districts and order schools to close as more rain was forecast.
Nearly 300 millimeters of rain fell across Bangkok over 48 hours, according to Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, producing an estimated 30 million cubic meters of water and causing flooding in several areas, particularly in the east.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) warned that a low-pressure system would bring continued rain, including isolated bouts of heavy to very heavy rainfall, across central Thailand, with storms forecast in up to 80 percent of the region.
The Ekkamai area was among the hardest hit, with part of its main avenue closed, while sections of Phetchaburi Road, one of the capital’s main arteries, were completely submerged.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration maintained the disaster declaration across all 50 districts and ordered schools and other educational centers to close on Monday, Thai PBS reported.
Authorities also announced the opening of temporary shelters in the Khlong Toei district, home to the EmDistrict shopping complex and the popular Benjakitti Park, in a public alert sent to residents at around 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. GMT).
Bus and train services were disrupted, although Bangkok’s international airports continued to operate normally. Thai Airways, the country’s flag carrier, is allowing passengers affected by the flooding to change their travel dates free of charge.
The low-pressure system was located west of Bangkok on Sunday. Weather platform Zoom Earth forecast a gradual easing of the heavy and persistent rain before the system dissipates on Monday after moving into neighboring Myanmar.
Bangkok, with around 9 million residents within the municipality and more than 15 million in its metropolitan area, is particularly vulnerable to flooding because it lies in the Chao Phraya River delta at an average elevation of about 1.5 meters above sea level.
The historical over-extraction of groundwater has also contributed to land subsidence in the capital.
Thailand experienced one of its worst floods on record in 2011 after an exceptionally wet monsoon season and several tropical storms. More than 800 people died and over 13 million were affected, according to the World Bank. EFE
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