Floods
- Environment News
Garbage in canals worsens flooding in Bangkok
With heavy rainfall creating flooding around Thailand, officials say it’s not just the massive water pelting down that’s to blame for the Bangkok floods. Another culprit plays a significant role in the flooding: dumped garbage. While the capital city needs improvements to the drainage systems, an epidemic of junk bottlenecking the water flow is also to blame. The Chao Phraya…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Storm Noru weakens from typhoon to depression as it moves across Thailand
Tropical storm Noru has weakened from a super typhoon to a depression as it moves across Thailand. The Thai Meteorological Department has still advised people in 64 provinces to be prepared for heavy to heavy rainfall, which may cause flash flooding and overflows. After Noru plundered Thailand’s northeast this week, the department said yesterday that the storm was moving west…
- Thailand News
Thai researchers develop flood-resistant rice strain
As heavy rains continue to plunder Thailand, researchers have developed a new flood-resistant rice strain. The new strain, called Hom Le Noi, can grow in all climates, according to the chief of the team that developed it. The team is from the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. The team’s chief, Dr Theerayut Tuchinda, said that Hom Le Noi…
- Thailand News
VIDEO: Floods tear through highway in northeast Thailand
Dramatic aerial footage of floods in northeast Thailand reveals water hurling through a 30-metre gap in the highway that links Rasi Sali district, Srisaket province to Phon Sai district, Roi Et province. Floods have turned the surrounding farmland into what looks like a reservoir after several days of heavy rain. As water levels rose, pressure built up and finally burst…
- Northern Thailand News
Extreme mud roads not enough to stop commuting teachers
Rain-drenched pavements on city roads are bad enough but, in rural areas of the Tak province, flood waters on the dirt roads have created clay mud swamps. Many roads are practically impassible, but some dedicated teachers are going above and beyond to commute to school each day. In the Umphang district of the northeastern province, roads have been particularly bad,…
- Bangkok News
Experts suggest solutions to Bangkok’s limited flood retention space
Bangkok’s small amount of green space means the city has limited spaces that can be made into flood retention areas. Meanwhile, the country’s heavy rainfall continues to cause chaos. Some experts are suggesting innovative solutions to the problem. An associate professor at Chulalongkorn University says the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration needs to use incentives for land owners to offer their land…
- Crime News
Pro-wakeskater charged with causing danger for surfing in Bangkok floods
UPDATE Pro-wakeskater Daniel Grant has been charged with causing danger to traffic – violating Thailand’s Traffic Act and Highway Act – for his surfing stunt in the Bangkok floods on Friday. The 24 year old half-Thai, half-English watersports champion was summoned to Khlong Luang Police Station this morning to acknowledge the allegations made against him by police after they saw…
- Thailand News
Unfinished MRT Pink Line causes a road to collapse in Bangkok
Commuters, pedestrians, and drivers had a lucky escape yesterday morning when torrential rain and floods caused part of the Chaeng Wattana Road in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok to collapse. The finger of blame was pointed toward the unfinished MRT Pink Line for the second time in a week. A part of the Chaeng Wattana Road, near Central Chang Wattana, dropped…
- Bangkok News
Rice farmer accuses Bangkok authorities of flooding his field
A rice farmer accused the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) of releasing water into his field. The farmer, Dacha Nutalai, is the vice president of the Bangkok Agriculturalist Association. Dacha made a video of his rice field in Nong Chok district on Friday, showing viewers that the water in the field was up to his waist. The angry farmer said that…
- Central Thailand News
Thai irrigation official transferred following Rangsit floods
An irrigation official in Thailand’s central province of Pathum Thani has been transferred from his regular work after floods wreaked havoc on the Rangsit district this week. The official, Bowdaeng Takaew, is the director of the Southern Rangsit Operation and Maintenance Project. The reason for Bowdaeng’s transfer hasn’t yet been specified, but it is believed that the transfer is due…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Coffin floats through the flooded streets of Bangkok
Flood waters can be deadly, but locals in Saphan Mai, located in the northern part of Bangkok, were shocked by the sight of a coffin floating by in the floodwaters that swept through the streets. The floating coffin was captured on videos and posted on social media where it quickly went viral. People may have feared and questioned: Is it…
- Eastern Thailand News
VIDEO: 15 students on truck in eastern Thailand get caught in flood
Fifteen students on a songthaew truck in Thailand’s eastern province of Rayong got caught in a flood in the main city district. The students had been on their way to school in the morning when run-off flooded the truck. The water level quickly rose to the middle of the truck’s height. One student tried to get out of the truck,…
- Bangkok News
Shoe seller loses millions in damages after warehouse floods in Bangkok
A Thai businesswoman who sells trainers says she has lost millions of baht in damages after her warehouse in Bangkok flooded last night. In a TikTok clip, the woman cried and apologised to her customers. Heavy rainfall which began yesterday and continued through the night caused flash flooding in several areas of Bangkok and surrounding provinces, disrupting traffic, education, and…
- Bangkok News
Floods disrupt Bangkok, Governor Chadchart pushes stranded vehicles
Heavy rainfall which began yesterday and continued throughout the night caused flash flooding in several areas of Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, disrupting traffic, education, and business. Deep flooding caused Chaeng Wattana Road and Phahon Yothin Road heading towards Saphan Mai in Bang Khen district to become impassible last night leaving many cars stranded. At 8am today, remaining floodwater congested…
- Thailand Weather Updates
A work week of heavy rain coming up in Thailand
This coming week is probably a good time in Thailand to pack your umbrella before going to work every day if you don’t already. A work week of heavy rain is coming up in Thailand as the monsoon season pushes on. From Monday to Friday, September 5-9, the Thai Meteorological Department predicts more rains across most regions of the country.…
- Phuket News
UPDATE: Prayut calls in army to help with Phuket floods
UPDATE After floods wreaked havoc in Phuket yesterday, General Prayut Chan-o-cha has today called in the Royal Thai Army for some backup to help the island province’s victims, and pump out flood water. Prayut has ordered army officers to pump out water in the area around the Phuket International Airport. He has also ordered to officers to help victims in…
- Phuket News
VIDEO: Phuket Airport and surrounding areas engulfed by floods
Floodwater is being pumped out of Phuket Airport and surrounding areas following heavy rainfall. No flights have been cancelled yet but the airport has requested passengers to arrive three to four hours before their scheduled departure time. “Heavy rain in Phuket province has resulted in flooding at Phuket Airport. Urgent remedial action is being taken in all flooded areas,” said…
- World News
India hit by unusually heavy rainfall
India experienced unusually heavy rain for the month of August, the country’s state-run weather office reported on Wednesday. Last month’s rainfall was 3.4% above India’s average. In July, India’s rainfall was 16.8% above average. The heavy rainfall has caused floods to wreak havoc across the country. This week, about 700 tribal people in the western state of Maharashtra were forced…
- Central Thailand News
UPDATE: National park in central Thailand closes 5 waterfalls due to flash floods
UPDATE The national park in central Thailand, where a waterfall was devastated by flash floods this week, has closed five waterfalls as rain continues to pour down. Khao Yai National Park announced the closure in a Facebook post today. The Haew Narok waterfall, the park’s largest, will be closed until September 30. Meanwhile, four other waterfalls will be closed until…
- Central Thailand News
Waterfall and national parks in central Thailand devastated by flash floods
A waterfall and two national parks in central Thailand’s Nakhon Nayok province have been devastated by flash floods since yesterday. A large amount of reddish brown water poured down into Nang Rong Waterfall in Khao Yai National Park. The waterfall’s water level rose to over half a metre, submerging a bridge. At another national park in the province, water levels…
- Northern Thailand News
Flooding from overflowing rivers soaks Chiang Rai and the border
Along the northern borders of Thailand, rains have swelled rivers beyond capacity and caused widespread flooding. The Sai River along the Burmese border started rising on Friday and by Saturday morning the riverbanks burst and flooded a border town in the Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department. Over 2,000 houses were flooded…
- World News
Unusually heavy floods in Pakistan kill 549, thousands of homes damaged
Pakistan is seeing its heaviest rainfall in 30 years, and the consequences have been deadly. At least 549 people in the country have been killed by floods so far, and more than 46,200 houses have been damaged, the National Disaster Management Authority said on Friday. In the past month, there have been 133% more rain than the average for the…
- Thailand Weather Updates
At least 28 dead in a flood in the American state of Kentucky
Thailand isn’t the only part of the world suffering flooding problems. In the American state of Kentucky, downpours caused massive flooding with a death toll of at least 28 people so far and thousands of local people displaced. The flood hit the eastern part of the state in what Governor Andy Beshear described as some of the worst rainfall in…
- Thailand Weather Updates
More heavy rain throughout Thailand today and tomorrow
Once again, more heavy rain is expected to pour down on most regions of Thailand today and tomorrow. This includes the north, northeast, central, east, and south regions. The Thai Meteorological Department says the monsoon trough is lying across the lower North, upper Central and lower Northeast of Thailand. Meanwhile down in the country’s south, there is a moderate southwest…
- Bangkok News
Bedraggled rats can’t cope in Bangkok floods
Even rats couldn’t cope with the treacherous knee-deep flash floods which struck several areas of Bangkok last night. Bedraggled rats piled up on top of each other on the side of Sukhumvit Road, which was hit particularly badly by the floods after hours of continuous and heavy rainfall. Rats are excellent swimmers and can tread water for up to three…
- Thailand News
Floods sweep pickup into dam in eastern Thailand, 1 survives and 2 missing
Floods swept an ice delivery pickup truck into a dam in Chon Buri province, eastern Thailand, in the early hours of this morning. The driver managed to escape and swim to safety but two Burmese labourers are still missing. Police from Bo Win Police Station received a call at 5.30am to say that two people were missing after a vehicle…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Thailand’s strong rain expected to mellow out next few days
The intense rain that has been causing chaos throughout Thailand is expected to mellow out from today (Friday), until Wednesday, July 20. According to the Thai Meteorological Department, the monsoon should be weaker from Friday to Sunday. The department’s director-general, Chomparee Chompurat, said the trough will move northwards to Myanmar, upper Laos, and upper Vietnam. Chomparee noted that there will…
- Thailand Weather Updates
Floods in Buriram, northeast Thailand
Two days of continuous heavy rainfall has caused “the worst floods in 10 years” in parts of Buriram province, northeast Thailand. Heavy rainfall during the early hours of yesterday morning caused flash flooding in Ban Dan district while most people were sleeping. Around 30 houses and restaurants, as well as village roads and agricultural land, have been damaged in the…