Bangkok authorities declared a flood disaster across the Thai capital on Saturday after almost 48 hours of heavy rain left canals full, roads submerged and residents knee-deep in water.

The governor urged people to stay home after almost 300 millimetres of rain fell since Thursday afternoon, while Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he was cutting short a trip to London to return.

“The water keeps coming in. It’s hard to go out now. It’s like at my waist level now,” said Somkid Pheuk-ngam, 67, a vendor who lives near a canal just north of central Bangkok.

“I cannot go anywhere. I have been closing my shop for two days now,” she told AFP, adding that while she often gets flooded, “I think this time is worse than the 2011 flood.”

Widespread deluges across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.

Almost continuous rain since Thursday afternoon has swelled Bangkok’s network of canals, sending murky water into surrounding homes, restaurants, shops and alleyways.

Numerous major roads were also flooded on Saturday, AFP reporters saw, while residents were forced to wade through knee- or sometimes thigh-high water in several different neighbourhoods.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) declared a disaster for all the city’s 50 districts, a move which gives local organisations special powers to act.

“I woke up to go to work and the street in front of my house was flooded,” said motorbike rider Samruay Nakkamnueng in the Ari neighbourhood.

“I worried if my motorbike would be able to wade through this much floodwater.”

In the On Nut neighbourhood, an AFP reporter saw locals filling sandbags to take home to protect their homes and businesses.

Bangkok authorities said they had prepared one million sandbags for distribution and has opened several temporary shelters in schools.

‘Every canal filled’

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the east of the city was most impacted and warned more rain was forecast.

“The rain keeps falling and we are doing our best. We are trying to pump the water out,” he said on social media on Saturday morning.

“The risk areas are those who live near canals. Every canal is now filled.”

Water levels later began to stabilise thanks to the city’s pumping stations, which were operating at full capacity, pumping some 1,200 cubic meters per second combined, the BMA said.

“If there is no additional rainfall, the situation is expected to improve within six hours,” it said in a lunchtime update.

Once dubbed the “Venice of the East” because of its canals, Bangkok is built on former marshland and rests about 1.5 metres above sea level.

Chadchart urged bedridden patients depending on life-saving medical equipment to consider a temporary stay in hospital.

He also advised residents to move their cars to higher ground, and Bangkok’s public transport authority offered free access to MRT train “park and ride” carparks to store their vehicles, until October 2.

Wetter than usual

Municipal workers were busy on Saturday trying to keep the roads clear.

“Our job is to make sure rubbish along the road doesn’t block the drains, so the water can drain away quickly,” said Kwan Nobnom, one of a group wearing bright orange raincoats.

“We thought this year would be dry, so we didn’t expect the flooding to be this bad.”

September is the peak of the rainy season in Bangkok but it has been wetter than usual, according to figures from the drainage and sewage department.

The capital recorded 487 mm of rain between September 1 and 25, compared to an average of almost 269 mm for the same period from 1991-2020.

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

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation warned of low pressure across eastern, northeastern and central Thailand until Sunday.