Bangkok floodwaters begin to ease after torrential rains affect 700,000
people
[September 29, 2026]
By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI
BANGKOK (AP) — Floodwaters in Thailand ’s capital were slowly receding
on Monday after nearly continuous rainfall over the weekend, although
some neighborhoods and major roads remained inundated.
Rain continued intermittently, but Bangkok city officials said
conditions had improved enough to accelerate drainage efforts. Water
levels in four main canals had risen too high over the weekend to take
in runoff from surrounding communities.
More rain was forecast across much of Thailand, although Bangkok was
expected to receive less. Cambodia and Myanmar were also experiencing
severe weather.
The weekend flooding affected 329,000 households, or about 700,000
people, the Bangkok Flood Control Center reported, according to Deputy
Gov. Tavida Kamolvej. Thai media reported two flood-related deaths in
the city and at least 10 nationwide.
Gov. Chadchart Sittipunt declared a flood emergency Saturday across all
50 city districts, although some were relatively unscathed. He said
authorities were prioritizing assistance for vulnerable residents,
including older people and those with disabilities, by delivering
supplies or evacuating them. City officials said nearly 7,000 people
were staying in shelters.
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, backpacks and boxes of groceries. Some traveled to
and from the station in a small boat provided by the mall.
'I’m worried about my pets'
For Naowarat Supanikorn, a 55-year-old maid who shares a single-story
house with three dogs and six cats, the flooding was more than an
inconvenience.
She said she realized at about 1:30 a.m. on Saturday that water was
seeping into her home.
“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. She said the bigger
problem is that she has lost her job working 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.”
To try to generate some income, she bought supplies to make some food
she can sell streetside, but business is slow in the flooded conditions.
“It’s stressful. If the bills come, I’d be cooked, because I don’t have
work now. If I have to pay for water or electricity now it would be
bad,” 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. It’s ok if I
don’t have work and starve myself, but I’d like help for my pets.”
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The streets are flooded after a heavy rain, in Bangkok, Thailand,
Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
The flood also has had knock-on effects, including panic buying of
food, disrupted supply chains for food and other items, and staffing
problems at various enterprises whose employees were unable to get
to their jobs.
Bangkok's main airport impacted
The Thai Air Force announced it was sending 69 ground personnel to
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport to help clear a backlog of passenger
luggage caused largely by airport workers being unable to get to
their place of work.
“This deployment is a vital mission to care for, assist, and
facilitate travelers — including tourists from around the world —
ensuring smooth operations and preventing delays in ground services,
thereby upholding the nation’s positive image,” the air force said.
The airport previously attributed the baggage pileup to
“insufficient staffing to support ground handling operations” and
problems with some baggage carts.
The disruptions delayed some departures and forced arriving
passengers to wait longer than usual for their luggage, with baggage
from several flights still undelivered, the airport said.
The government declared special holidays on Monday and Tuesday for
state offices. It advised state enterprises, financial institutions,
private businesses and hospitals to determine whether they needed to
remain open.
Thailand’s meteorological agency forecast heavy to very heavy rain
across several parts of the country. It warned residents,
particularly in northern, central and eastern regions, to prepare
for possible flash floods, river overflows, forest runoff and
landslides, especially near waterways, foothills and low-lying
areas.
Neighboring countries are also battered by floods
In neighboring Myanmar, at least 10 people were killed and dozens
were missing after heavy rain triggered widespread flooding and
landslides in the southern coastal region of Tanintharyi, local
media reported.
Dawei township recorded 346 millimeters (13.62 inches) of rain
Monday, breaking an 80-year-old record. Myanmar’s Meteorology
Department warned that conditions could worsen as the storm front
moved closer to Yangon.
Flash floods struck at least 10 provinces in Cambodia, affecting
44,889 families and forcing nearly 4,000 people to evacuate,
according to disaster management officials.
The agency overseeing the archaeological park in Siem Reap province,
home to the centuries-old Angkor temple complex, said it was
operating water gates and diversion systems to reduce the risk of
flooding.
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Associated Press writer Sopheng Cheang in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
contributed to this report.
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