Bangkok warned of more rain Sunday night

Bangkok warned of more rain Sunday night

Rangsit still under water

A motorcyclist and pillion rider wade through floodwater in Suan Luang district of Bangkok on Sunday. (Photo: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Facebook account)
A motorcyclist and pillion rider wade through floodwater in Suan Luang district of Bangkok on Sunday. (Photo: Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Facebook account)

City Hall is warning residents in the capital of more rain to come on Sunday night, even as some districts in the northern and eastern parts of Bangkok remained under water from an overnight downpour.

Clear skies were seen over the capital on Sunday morning, but dark clouds were expected to return later in the day as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) posted a warning message that rain is expected to blanket the city once more from 7pm-midnight.

"Be prepared for rain across Bangkok tonight from 7pm onwards," it said, citing information from the Department of Drainage and Sewerage.

The alert came after the nightmare endured on Saturday night by people living in northern and eastern districts, as well as Rangsit area in Pathum Thani's Muang district.

Bang Khen, Lak Si and Don Muang districts in northern Bangkok together with Suan Luang and Lat Krabang districts to the east remained submerged after relentless rain - mostly from early evening to late at night - began pounding Bangkok last Monday.

Lat Krabang was one of the most seriously flooded areas. Although the situation was improving in many districts, "Lat Krabang still has a problem," Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said on Sunday.

"We are speeding up draining floodwater from inundated districts to canals," he went on.

The Bang Khen district office advised motorists to stay away from Bang Khen roundabout and some sections of Phahon Yothin and Ram Intra roads as a result of flooding.

Although the governor saw improvements on Sunday morning, a woman living in the Ram Intra Km 4 Housing Community in Bang Khen told a different story.

"Water has started creeping into several houses," the woman by the name of Apiwan Gipsa said in a video clip posted on the FM 91 police traffic Twitter account.

"Please help us. Flooding is making our lives difficult," the woman appealed to Mr Chadchart while standing knee deep in water. "We have difficulty moving in and out."

Vehicle are seen parked on an expressway in Rangsit area of Muang district in Pathum Thani on Saturday. (Screen capture from Saimai Survive Facebook account)

In neighbouring Pathum Thani, Samai Survive, a non-profit volunteer group, reported several vehicles parked on an expressway and elevated roads in Rangsit area of Muang district on Saturday night as the owners wanted to save their vehicles from flooding.

The scene reminded people of the so-called great flood in 2011, when all types of vehicles were seen on tollways and elevated roads as a massive volume of water submerged Greater Bangkok and other provinces.

Caretaker Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon has guaranteed that what happened almost a decade ago would not be repeated this time.

The Rangsit Municipality on Sunday alerted motorists to beware of flooding on Road 305. Drivers should avoid some U-turns under bridges due to the high level of water, it added.

Road 305 is the main link between Rangsit and Nakhon Nayok and runs parallel to Rangsit canal, which is on the verge of overflowing.

The municipality also repeated advice that people living along the canal move their belongings to higher ground and keep an eye out for updated information as the water level of the canal was rising and could reach a critical level at any time.

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