Over two hours of heavy downpours yesterday afternoon led to massive flooding which caused traffic to come to a standstill across Bangkok and the surrounding areas.
Heavy rains pounded the capital in the afternoon causing floodwaters to rise as high as 20cm on most roads across the city, according to information from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) Flood Prevention Centre.
The hardest-hit area was Pathumwan district located right in the central business area where 115.5 millimetres of precipitation were measured in just a few hours.
The heavy rain caused traffic to grind to a halt as people made their way through floodwaters during the evening rush hour.
Mass-transit systems across the city were packed as people used the service to avoid heavy road traffic.
Heavy rains also led to a rapid rise in the water levels in the Saen Saep canal, which consequently caused an interruption in boat services in the canal as the vessels were unable to pass under some bridges in a number of locations, the centre said.
In preparation for flooding, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) had listed 13 locations as flood-prone areas to be monitored closely and another 56 spots with the potential of flooding, said Jakkraphan Phewngam, a deputy Bangkok governor.
He said that he was confident that BMA's flood drainage would be able to cope with heavy rainfall during the monsoon season.
"The Department of Drainage and Sewerage previously installed additional water pumps in these areas to ensure that it would be able to deal better with flooding in Bangkok this rainy season," he said.
However, it was reported that the electricity system in Bang Sue's water draining tunnel -- one of the largest water draining systems, went off for several hours before resuming at around 6pm.
That disruption led to flood roads in the Lat Phrao, Chatuchak, Phayathai, Din Daeng and Bang Sue areas.
A section of Si Ayutthaya Road in front of Santiratwitthayalai School was also inundated with flood water about 10cm to 15cm deep.
This was also the case with sections of Vibhavadi Rangsit Road connecting to Lat Phrao intersection, Huai Khwang intersection, Rama IX Road and the areas around the BTS Skytrain's Mo Chit station.
