Heavy Rainfall Leads to Flash floods, Overflowing Canals in Bangkok

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Photo Courtesy: Royal Thai Police

This week, Bangkok has received some of the heaviest rainfall in the last two decades and residents have been warned that the weather is unlikely to improve until Monday.

Northern and eastern districts of the capital city are now flooded and the canal system is on the verge of collapse. The prolonged rainfall has also led to many important roads being completely submerged in water making it extremely difficult for people to commute after work. The flooding caused traffic in many areas to come to a standstill.

A heavy downpour is been predicted over the weekend for about 80% of the country and flooding has already been reported in 17 provinces so far. Thankfully, no reports of injuries or deaths have come in, despite the awful weather.

According to a report in the Bangkok Post, The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) are trying to drain the flood water off the city’s streets, but high water levels in canals are making this exercise extremely difficult.

Considering the weather, the government has asked people, especially motorists to look at forecasts and flooding reports before choosing to step out this week. With the ongoing traffic snares, even if they get stuck in flooded areas, military trucks won’t be able to reach and rescue them promptly.

Meanwhile, the Thai Cabinet has allocated a budget of around THB 1.6 billion to deal with Thailand’s frequent flooding problems. THB 912 million has been set aside for water management during the monsoons and drought seasons while THB 664 million has been approved for new water pumps.