Nearly two days of continuous downpours turned Bangkok's streets into waterways: roads, shops and homes were submerged, with water in some places rising above waist level, and social media is flooded with footage of inundated neighborhoods, infohub.kz reports.
From September 24 to 26, some areas of the Thai capital received more than 300 mm of rain. Days later, water filled the city's canals, and the drainage system couldn't cope with the volume. As a result, authorities declared a disaster in all 50 districts of the city.
Photos and videos from the streets show cars submerged and motorcyclists trying to navigate flooded roads. In some places, the water reached people's chests or waists. According to authorities, about 52,000 households were affected, and several thousand people were evacuated to temporary shelters.
Additionally, social media has seen many clips of local wildlife caught in the flooded streets. Users are discussing the appearance of snakes and fish in areas where water overflowed from the canals.
Strangely enough, September flooding itself is not unusual for Bangkok. Autumn is the peak of the rainy season, and the city regularly faces inundation at this time of year. But the current volume of rainfall has been significantly higher than usual. According to experts, from September 1 to 25, Bangkok received 487 mm of rain, compared to the average of 269 mm for the same period in 1991–2020.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle reported how a heavy hailstorm hit Astana in the summer. Within minutes, roads in several districts of the capital were flooded, and cars literally began to "float" on the roadway.