Heavy rain causes traffic chaos in Bangkok; flooding in some Phetchabun, Phichit
Heavy rain hit Bangkok during the night and continued throughout the morning, causing flooding in many areas and worsening the already chaotic traffic in the rush hour.
Vehicles were stuck bumper to bumper on the roads, with many commuters spending double their usual time travelling from home to office.
Many Bangkokians updated their facebook walls with photos of traffic congestion. Some said they simply gave up trying to reach their destinations while others said they wanted to go home but could not get out of the jam.
Traffic radio stations were busy taking calls from people trapped on the roads. The rains that hit the capital during the night and was still continuing at noon in some parts of the city.
The Nation’s reporter Kornchanok Raksaseri missed a meeting at the Thai Journalists Association scheduled for 10.30am.
“An hour after leaving the Nation Tower at KM 4.5 on Bangna Trat Road, I had yet reach the entrance to the Bangna Expressway. I moved less than 100 metres in 10 minutes. It was 10am by the time I arrived at Bangna Intersection so I gave up and returned to the office. I learned later that the meeting I was supposed to attend in the city was cancelled,” she said.
It usually takes her a little over an hour to reach Pichai Road.
In the northern province of Phetchabun, heavy rain caused localised flooding, affecting about 1,000 homes. Flooding is also likely to be reported from a wider area.
A flash flood hit about 1,000 houses in three communities. About 1,200 acres of farmland have been inundated. Some schools were forced to close.
However, the water level in the Pasak River is stable and the situation is expected to return to normal within two days if there is no more rain and northern run-off.
Flash floods also affected the Wangdaeng canal, flooding a community in Thapklor municipality in Phichit. Local residents moved their belongings to higher ground.
About 100 homes have been flooded and some roads cannot be used, so residents are travelling by boat and continue to watch flood water levels closely.
In Chaiyaphum, the water level in the Lamprataw Dam on Phulanka Mountain has risen, posing a flood threat to low-lying areas on the side of the mountain. Some muddy torrents have formed as rainwater flows down the mountain,
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