> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Bangkok Under Water: All 50 Districts Declared Disaster Zones - URL: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/bangkok-under-water-all-50-districts-declared-disaster-zones/ - Published: 2026-09-26T10:55:27.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-26T10:55:27.000Z - Description: Bangkok has declared all 50 districts disaster zones after nearly 300mm of rain in 48 hours filled canals, submerged roads and pushed 980 people into shelters. With pumps at full capacity, the prime minister rushing home and more rain forecast, the Thai capital faces days of flooding. - Author: TGV Desk - Tags: Thailand, Natural Disaster, East-Asia, asia, The Day So Far, Live Wire, has-audio [Bangkok has declared all 50 of its districts disaster zones after almost 48 hours of relentless rain filled the city's canals, submerged roads and left residents wading through deep water](https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3326549/all-50-bangkok-districts-declared-disaster-areas?ref=theglobalvoice.com). Nearly 300 millimetres of rain fell on the Thai capital from Thursday afternoon, and Governor Chadchart Sittipunt urged people to stay at home. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he was cutting short a trip to London to return to the country. The governor signed the order on Saturday morning, September 26\. It widened an earlier declaration that covered only three districts in the city's east: Nong Chok, Suan Luang and Khan Na Yao. The designation allows the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, state agencies and local authorities to act more quickly and in a coordinated way to respond to the flooding and help residents. The scale of the downpour has overwhelmed the city. The rain since Thursday dumped roughly 30 million cubic metres of water on Bangkok, with eastern districts among the worst affected. "Our problem is that the canals are full," Chadchart said in an afternoon update. At 9:22 a.m., the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation sent an urgent alert to phones across the capital, warning that canal water levels had reached critical levels and were still rising. Daily life has been badly disrupted. Motorists were told to avoid 21 flood-affected roads, some of which were closed. Some businesses stayed shut. Around 980 people were staying in temporary shelters, and 36 bedridden residents were moved to hospitals. The city's metro operator is offering free park-and-ride parking for vehicle storage until October 2. --- The city's defences are working at their limit. Bangkok's pumping stations are running at full capacity, moving about 1,200 cubic metres of water per second combined, and water levels began to stabilise around midday on Saturday. The governor said that if the rain stops, it would take two to three days to drain the floodwater. On Friday, he had pointed to new drainage tunnels, upgraded pumping stations, better pipes and raised roads as reasons some areas no longer flood as badly as before. The weather offers little immediate relief. Unlike a monsoon system that passes quickly, the current low-pressure system has stalled over Bangkok, with its centre tilted toward the city's east. The national disaster agency has warned of flash floods, mudslides and overflowing rivers across eastern, northeastern and central Thailand until Sunday. Forecasters expect heavy to very heavy rain to continue into early next week. The flooding follows an unusually wet month. Bangkok recorded 487 millimetres of rain between September 1 and 25, almost double the 1991–2020 average of about 269 millimetres for the same period. The city is built on low ground, only 50 centimetres to two metres above sea level, and parts of it have sunk because of excessive groundwater extraction. The declaration inevitably brings back memories of 2011, when floods reached Bangkok and 65 provinces were declared disaster zones. Authorities insist the city is better prepared this time. But with canals already full and more rain forecast, the coming days will test those defences.