Bangkok floods force thousands into shelters

BANGKOK - Thousands of Bangkok residents awoke in shelters on Sunday after flooding triggered by days of heavy rain in the Thai capital inundated homes and roads, with some starting to dry out their homes and belongings.

Nearly 4,900 people have been evacuated to shelters, with around 52,000 households affected by the floods, which prompted a disaster declaration across the capital, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

More than 330 millimetres (13 inches) of rain fell in some areas of the city between Thursday and Sunday, the weather agency said.

Thailand is used to wet weather and September is the peak of the rainy season, but several Bangkok residents said this year seemed worse.

"Our house was underwater for about 30 hours," office worker Kosin Nilset, who lives along the Premprachakorn canal on the outskirts of the capital, told AFP on Sunday morning.

"This time, the water level is higher than the 2011 flood," the 44-year-old said.

Widespread deluges across the Southeast Asian country in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.

Kosin and his family lifted their belongings once they saw the water level was higher than the canal retaining wall, but their ground floor was still left soaked.

"At least tap water and electricity are working," Kosin said, as he used a broom to sweep out water.

Pedestrians in plastic rain ponchos trudged through murky floodwaters in Bangkok's east -- knee-deep in some areas of a grocery store parking lot -- floating their belongings in plastic tubs alongside them, AFP journalists saw.

- 'Sleeping on the table' -

Water levels in Bangkok's network of canals remained high on Sunday morning, with authorities working to speed up drainage, the BMA said.

More rain was forecast throughout Sunday for Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, but would begin to taper off on Monday, it said.

Scientists warn that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said several roads were still flooded and warned Bangkok residents in a Facebook Live post to avoid unnecessary travel.

Chadchart visited a temporary shelter on Saturday night in a school in the Kheha Romklao area, where he said about 1,000 people were evacuated.

Some rested on cots and benches with their dogs in hallways, while others lay with blankets on the floors of classrooms where desks and chairs were pushed to the side.

Hundreds of city schools will be closed on Monday, according to the BMA.

Some convenience stores had empty shelves over the weekend as residents raced to buy essentials.

The prime minister's office asked the public to avoid panic-buying and warned that price gouging was a criminal offence.

Thidarat Silsuwan, 56, lives alone in her partially submerged house along the Premprachakorn canal.

"I have been sleeping on the table for two days now," she told AFP.

She did not want to go to a shelter as she worked to clean up and salvage her belongings.

"I tried to lift everything up, but I gave up on large electric appliances like the refrigerator and washing machine. I guess they are broken."