Bangkok residents have begun stocking up on food and drinking water after Governor Chadchart Sittipunt declared all 50 of the capital’s districts disaster zones this morning, September 26, as flooding continued to disrupt roads and daily life.
The order widens an earlier designation that covered only Nong Chok, Suan Luang and Khan Na Yao districts, and it takes effect from yesterday, September 25.
Chadchart signed it in his role as director of Bangkok’s disaster prevention and mitigation command. It allows the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), government agencies and local administrations to act within their authority more quickly and systematically.
At 9.22am, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation sent a cell broadcast alert. It warned that canal water levels had reached critical levels and were expected to rise further. The Thai Meteorological Department expects heavy rain to continue until tomorrow, September 27, after warning of flash floods earlier this week.
Shoppers crowded supermarkets and convenience stores across Bangkok and surrounding provinces from early this morning. Several convenience stores ran low on dried food, drinking water, instant noodles, ready meals and eggs.
Makro and Lotus’s said they were restocking branches continuously, noting that fresh food, dried food, drinking water and household goods were being distributed to all branches, which remain open as normal.
Somchai Pornratanacharoen, former president of the Thai Retailers Association, said people were buying extra in the short term because they feared deliveries could be delayed. He said the situation had not reached the level of a major flood crisis and there was no need to stockpile.
Somchai said many neighbourhood restaurants had closed and food delivery apps could not deliver as usual. With the rush falling on a weekend, residents also did not want to drive for fear of damaging their cars. He expected it to last only one or two days of heavy rain, adding that production and distribution were operating normally.
Heavy rain has already slowed traffic on major routes across the city in recent days.
The story All Bangkok districts declared disaster zones after flooding as seen on Thaiger News.
