Traffic chaos as city hit with heavy morning downpour
As heavy rains drenched Bangkok on Wednesday morning, traffic chaos spread across the city and its suburbs as motorists drove through flooded streets and commuters were stuck in crawling traffic congestion.
A company employee said she had spent more than five hours on the road trying to drive from her home in Ramindra to the Bang Na area.
“Normally, it takes about 40 minutes. If I leave home at 11am, I usually reach my office before noon,” she said. “But today, I arrived at 4pm.”
Many portions of her route were flooded. Bang Na, was reportedly hardest hit with 149.5 millimetres of rain on Wednesday.
Heavy rain started about 5am, just before the morning rush hour and commuters had to deal with the fact that the Bangkok’s notorious traffic congestion worsens significantly during heavy rainfalls.
Among the flooded roads was Sukhumvit near the Bearing BTS station, which was under 10 to 15 centimetres of water, causing length traffic jams. At 7.15 am, flooding affected Srinakharin’s outbound lanes at the Bearing Intersection, causing severe congestion.
Some vehicles broke down during the torrential rains. At some spots on Srinakharin Road, motorists had to help one another pushing broken-down vehicles off the road.
Traffic police reported that major intersections in Samut Prakan, including Sri Thepa and La Salle, were under 20cm to 30cm of water, and many vehicles had broken down because of the floods. The Poo Chao Saming Prai Intersection on Sukhumvit Road was under 10cm to 20cm of water.
Traffic problems continued throughout the day. Another company employee, whose shift started at about 1pm, said she spent seven hours on the road and got stuck in the evening rush hour before she reached her office.