Parts of Bangkok were left under waist-high floodwater as officials warned of more heavy monsoon rain
At least two people have been killed and one feared dead in flood-related incidents across Thailand as the entire capital was declared a disaster area on Saturday following days of torrential rain.
Heavy rain battered Bangkok overnight Friday and continued into Saturday, flooding major roads and neighborhoods across the capital as severe weather hit large swathes of the country.
The two deaths were reported in Chanthaburi province in eastern Thailand. A Buddhist monk was killed in a landslide while another person died after a fishing boat capsized, Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) said. Another person was also killed in Bangkok, according to Thai newspaper Matichon.
Videos from Bangkok show cars flooded up to the roof and people forced to wade through the waterlogged streets.
The Royal Thai Army deployed personnel for flood relief and prepared temporary shelters and mobile field kitchens to provide meals, the Thai government said on Saturday. Military medical teams were also sent to affected areas while rescue aircraft were put on standby for poorly accessible areas of the country.
BREAKING | Thailand: All 50 districts of Bangkok have been declared disaster areas as heavy rain causes widespread flooding, traffic disruptions and waterlogging across the capital.
The Thai Meteorological Department warns of continued heavy to very heavy rain in Bangkok, with… pic.twitter.com/kzm28E3RK2
The danger of flash floods and landslides will remain over the next 24 hours as a strengthening southwest monsoon brings heavy rain, Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center said Saturday.
The disaster comes less than a year after severe flooding devastated southern Thailand and killed at least 170 people last November, according to Thai government figures.
Saturday’s flood comes exactly a month after a deadly flash flood and catastrophic landslide struck Nepal, killing at least 1,451 people. More than 5,700 remain missing, according to the latest figures from the Nepalese government.
