Severe flooding has swamped much of Thailand, including the capital Bangkok. The interior ministry said 41 provinces have been flooded since 16 September, at least eight people have died, more than 580,000 homes have been damaged and more than 80,000 people cannot leave their houses. Samakal carried the report on Monday, citing Reuters.

Bangkok received 320 mm of rain in two to three days last week, close to what the city normally gets in all of September. Roads and housing estates in places stood under waist-deep water, and city authorities said 5,901 people had taken refuge in 234 shelters.

The ministry's permanent secretary said floating kitchens and boats were being used for relief, with the aim of giving every resident three meals a day throughout the flood and for at least seven days after the water recedes.

Outside the capital, authorities on Monday ordered residents in the coastal province of Rayong to move out, fearing that two reservoirs would exceed capacity. The province lies next to one of the country's main industrial zones.

The economy is taking a hit. An economist at Rangsit University estimated losses of at least 11 billion baht, about $327 million, and said growth this year could fall by 0.3 percentage points to 2.1 per cent. The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce put the damage in Bangkok alone at about 7 billion baht and nationwide at about 12.3 billion baht.

In Bang Kapi, one of Bangkok's worst-hit districts, markets carry on in the water, with traders selling from floating plastic boxes and drums. Last year floods in the south, after 630 mm of rain in three days, killed at least 145 people and inundated more than 33,000 homes.

The floods are another reminder of how quickly a short burst of extreme rain at the end of the monsoon can overwhelm cities and farm districts across South and Southeast Asia.

Photo: Cpl. Robert J. Maurer, U.S. Marine Corps (Sai Mai, Bangkok, 2011 floods) / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

Source: Samakal