Bangkok Declares Citywide Flood Disaster After Record Rainfall

Bangkok was declared a citywide flood disaster zone on September 26, 2026, after nearly 300 millimetres of rain fell over 48 hours, flooding major roads and forcing thousands of residents from their homes across the Thai capital's 50 districts.¹²³⁴

Record rainfall, evacuations and shelters

Bangkok's rainfall exceeded 300 millimetres from the afternoon of September 24, an amount officials likened to roughly 223 million cubic metres of water. Approximately 52,000 households across all 50 districts were affected, and about 4,200 people were evacuated to shelters, with authorities describing the situation as most severe near the city's canals.³⁴⁵²

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration prepared 233 temporary shelters with capacity for around 15,000 people, and nearly 40 bedridden patients were relocated to hospitals. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said the crisis endangered lives and property: "The crisis poses a risk to people's lives and could damage public and private property."³⁴¹

Residents described the impact directly. Arita Sanpoka, whose home flooded, described the water rising to waist level inside her house and said everything there had been destroyed, noting that the electricity had gone out and the bathroom could no longer be used. Sansuk Laowatcharakul said: "I'm worried too, because I haven't stocked up on food beforehand, and I've never faced this kind of situation alone before, since my parents aren't with me." Suppakarn Julavijitphong, who had not relocated before the government's warning, said: "I wasn't aware enough to consider relocating before the warning was issued."¹⁵

Government response

Prime Minister Anuthim Charnvirakul chaired an online meeting from London to monitor the flooding and coordinate the national response. He instructed officials to work together on relief efforts, saying: "All agencies must integrate work as one team, expedite shelter preparation, food, water, medicine, clothing, and transportation for affected people."³⁴

The Thai military set up shelters and field kitchens, and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration designated schools as temporary accommodation for displaced residents. The government also issued an emergency advisory urging people living near canals to move belongings to higher ground.¹⁵²

Thailand's Meteorological Department forecast heavy rain for September 26 with a declining trend expected from September 27, while separate forecasts pointed to thunderstorms over the weekend and, according to one source, widespread storms and isolated heavy rain into the following Monday.³⁴²¹

Airport disruption

Suvarnabhumi Airport continued to operate, but flooding disrupted ground operations, preventing some Thai Airways employees from reaching the airport and taking some baggage carts out of service. The airport said it was coordinating with the airline: "Suvarnabhumi Airport said it was coordinating with Thai Airways to urgently increase ground-handling workforce and repair faulty baggage carts."⁷

Thailand's Civil Aviation Authority warned that continued rainfall across Bangkok and surrounding provinces could delay flights or require schedule changes, and advised passengers to allow extra time to reach airport terminals, with the tourism authority separately recommending an additional two to three hours for travel. Thai Airways issued its own advisory, stating: "THAI apologizes for any inconvenience this situation may cause and wishes all passengers a safe journey."⁸⁵²