Bangkok’s authorities have declared a city-wide flood disaster after the worst rains in years brought the Thai capital to a stand-still, submerging roads and forcing evacuations.
More than 84,000 people in 21 provinces of the country have been affected by the flooding, mostly in the central region, according to officials.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Authority has declared a disaster across all 50 of the city’s districts and urged people to stay at home and move their belongings to upper floors.
The authorities issued emergency warning messages to people’s phones as incessant rainfall since Thursday afternoon paralysed parts of the capital.
Accumulated rainfall in major canals in Bangkok exceeded 20cm, officials said. Floodwaters spread across the city, particularly in the central and eastern parts, blocking roads and stopping traffic in some areas.
Thailand's Meteorological Department warned the heavy rain would continue in most parts of the country through Sunday, citing a strong low-pressure system over the central region and strengthening southwest monsoon conditions.
Hwang Hwan-chung, who flew from South Korea and has visited Bangkok over 10 times, said he had never seen such "crazy" weather, adding that a lack of taxis left him stranded.
Sukanya Tongsuk, a local, compared the scenes to the last time Bangkok was hit by widespread flooding, in 2011. "I think it's like 10 or 15 years ago that we saw heavy rain like this," she said.
In 2011, Thailand was hit with five heavy storms, which combined with monsoon rains for a lengthy, slow-moving flood that caused billions of dollars in damage and took hundreds of lives.
Somkid Pheuk-ngam, 67, said the "water keeps coming in".
Ms Somkid, who lives near a canal just north of central Bangkok, told the AFP news agency: "It's hard to go out now. It's like at my waist level now. I cannot go anywhere. I have been closing my shop for two days now."
She claimed that the water levels in the city appeared to be worse than in 2011.
People waded through knee-deep waters, cars crawled along waterlogged roads in parts of Bangkok, and bikers were seen pushing their motorcycles. Authorities said some regional bus services from Bangkok to the eastern provinces were suspended.
Air traffic control authorities confirmed operations remained normal at airports, but some flights might face delays due to weather-caused detours.
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt said despite the heavy rain, flooding should recede once the rain subsides, as city officials work to drain floodwaters as quickly as possible.
He said: "The rain keeps falling and we are doing our best. We are trying to pump the water out, but the water in canals are full... The risk areas are those who live near canals. Every canal is now filled."
More than 200 shelters were set up across the city and about 900 people have moved into them, Mr Chadchart said.
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