Bangkok Floodwaters Recede But Nearly 7,000 Remain in Shelters as City Begins Recovery

Floodwaters in Bangkok were slowly receding on Monday after nearly continuous weekend rainfall, though some neighborhoods and major roads remained inundated, according to the Bangkok Flood Control Center.

The weekend flooding affected 329,000 households, or about 700,000 people, Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej said. Governor Chadchart Sittipunt declared a flood emergency Saturday across all 50 city districts, prioritizing vulnerable residents including older people and those with disabilities.

Nearly 7,000 people were staying in shelters, city officials said.

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 and boxes of groceries.

For Naowarat Supanikorn, a 55-year-old maid who shares a single-story house with three dogs and six cats, the flooding brought both displacement and job loss.

“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. But the bigger problem is that she lost her job 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”.

“It’s stressful. If the bills come, I’d be cooked, because I don’t have work now,” 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”.

The flood caused knock-on effects including panic buying of food, disrupted supply chains and staffing problems at businesses whose employees could not reach their jobs.

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport said baggage was piling up because of insufficient staffing and problems with baggage carts, delaying some departures.

The Thai Air Force announced it was sending 69 ground personnel to help clear the backlog.

The government declared special holidays on Monday and Tuesday for state offices, advising state enterprises, financial institutions, private businesses and hospitals to determine whether they needed to remain open.

Thai media reported two flood-related deaths in the city and at least 10 nationwide.

An economist at Rangsit University estimated economic losses could reach at least 11 billion baht, or about $327 million, nationwide.

Thailand’s meteorological agency forecast heavy to very heavy rain across several parts of the country, warning residents in northern, central and eastern regions to prepare for possible flash floods, river overflows and landslides.