Bangkok flooding in pictures

Bangkok flooding in pictures route Suttthisan - Lad Phrao - Central Lad Phrao - Chatuchak Park - Saphan Kwai

In the last weeks I heard and read a lot of news, sometimes I was looking at TV in the evening and the news were announcing that the place I live is flooded "water reached to intersection of ..." and the thing is that there was no flooding and still there is none.

Boat out in flooded Bangkok

What I did was to decide that I have to check by myself where there is and where there is no water and flooded areas. Said and done, took out the camera and started the journey. First things was to travel up on Rachada road until I reach water: Fortune city is dry, so is Thailand Cultural Center area, Robinson and BigC and further on Hway Kwang. Going further I reach to Sutthisan intersection - still no flooding water around here and I went further up. About 400-500 meters away from Sutthisan-Rachada intersection there is the Khlong Bang Sue and North of this canal is where the flooding starts.

Pictures in this article illustrates the journey from Chaophraya Park hotel on Ratchada road towards the North, reaching Lad Phrao intersection and then turn left on LadPhrao road.

Truck taxi carrying people - most of them are free of charge

Foreigners playing in the water on Rachada road

Truck ride in the flooded areas of Bangkok

Shell petrol station flooded and closed - Rachada road

Lad Phrao intersection on Rachadapisek road

Perfect blue sky in Bangkok - not much pollution during floodings

Lad Phrao road flooded

All here is flooded. The water is just enough deep for not allowing the small cars to pass but not high enough to produce any damage to houses or big cars - this looks like a scenario written already. Water is just there, not to much, not to less - just perfect to create an inconvenience and from my point of view, to spend more money on booths and water protection.

So from Lad Phrao road towards Central Lad Phrao and Union Mall everything is under water. Further on the truck went left towards Chathuchak Park which got some water as well. Mostly is the roads that resemble to a sea of water. The sky is a perfect blue in Bangkok which, believe me, is not easy to find - I do assume this is a result of less and less pollution. Probably only 10-15% of the cars are running in Bangkok these days.

Heading towards Saphan Kwai

Waiting for the bus in Bangkok

Pahon Yohin road near Chatuchak Park - flooded

Sea of Bangkok - water as far as you can see

Pickup truck playing in the floods

All the parkings are full with cars and so are the bridges and express-ways where the people parked their cars for escaping the flood to come.

They say Bangkok has been voted as the No.1 place for travel - I guess it was before the flooding :)

Royal Thai Army trucks for passengers in flooded areas it free of charge

Chatuchak weekend market intersection

Just before reaching BigC at Saphan Kway the flooding stopped and everything is dry again - now we are back South of Khlong Bang Sue.

Conclusion: Inner Bangkok is flooded in a lot of places but it is just a matter of inconvenience for the citizen as the water did not reach dangerous levels and it starts to recede as well. By middle of December should be all gone, this would be my forecast on the Thai flooding of 2011.

Drop me a line if you are flooded or you want to post your pics or comments or ideas, I may help you with this.

Bangkok Rachadapisek road flooded

Rachadapisek is quite an important road in Bangkok, it is also quite long stretching from South of city all the way up to North. Some of the MRT line is following Rachada road as well.

Below are some flooding pictures as of 06 November 2011. These pictures are taken in front of Chaophraya Park hotel on Rachada road which is 500 meters North of Sutthisan intersection. Starting this place and further up towards Lad Phrao both sides of the Rachadapisek road are flooded and water is increasing with every minute.

We could see water rising about 5 cm is approx. 10 minutes which is quite much.

Klong Bang Sue on Ratchada road - high water level flooding houses along

Here the Rachada flooding starts

Bus on Rachada road - small cars are not allowed further than Suthisan

Royal Thai Army transporting passengers to the other side of LadPhrao intersection

Sea of Bangkok directly on Rachada road

Bangkokians gathering to see the flood (most of them)

Khlong Bang Sue - on Rachada road, high water level 06 Nov 2011

Water rising out from the underground channels on Rachadapisek road

The road from Suthisan intersection further on Rachada road is closed for small cars.

Ratchadaphisek (Thai: รัชดาภิเษก) is the district that follows the northeastern portion of Ratchadaphisek Road. It is located north of Sukhumvit, east of Phahonyothin and west of Ramkhamhaeng districts. Since the completion of the metro (MRT) line, Ratchadaphisek has developed into an entertainment mecca for the locals with dozens of clubs, theatres, karaoke bars, bowling alleys and even an ice skating rink and more. Foreign visitors are drawn to its seafood restaurants, cultural performances and "massage parlours" (brothels). The part of Ratchadaphisek Road that runs along the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre is dealt with under Sukhumvit.


The northern runoff is now flowing towards Bangkok's Saphan Khwai intersection, in an inner district of Bang Sue, about 500 metres away, reports said.

The mass volume go water on Monday morning inundated the Kampaengphet intersection near Chatuchak Sunday market. The floodwater was 30 to 40 centimetres deep, impassable for small vehicles.

Traffic police at Bang Sue police station expected the floodwater to arrive at Saphan Khwai intersection about noon today, according to the reports.

On Vibhavadi Rangsit road, the runoff from Lat Phrao intersection arrived at headquarter of the country’s largest local daily, Thai Rath, flooding all lanes of the main road.

The floodwater was reported at 50 centimetre and impassable for small cars.


Water enters Bangkok: my-asia-travels.blogspot.com/2011/11/flood-water-enters-bangkok-city.html

Bangkok flooding protection measures

As of 2nd of November 2011 instead of saying that water is being drained and everyday is better, we can say that flooding water advances in Bangkok and reaches Pahon Yothin road around intersection of Racha-Yothin which is not a place that should be flooded anyways. Seems all of this happens due to the fact that they are letting the water come in ... ok, prepare the boots and boats! :)

Recent updates, as of Monday 31 October 2011, are saying that the flooding situation will not get any worse than it already is, which is a "happy flooding news" in a way, still sorry for all those under water! The Prime Minister of Thailand said that the flooding in Bangkok is unlikely to get any worse than it is now.

On the other side a bunch of "citizens" (they used "angry villagers" in the news) take the law in their hands as about 500 local residents who earlier on Monday blocked a section of Nimit Mai Road and destroyed part of the canal floodwall in Khlong Sam Wa district. They were demanding the government raise the sluicegate from an 80cm opening to 150cm.

Good job guys! haha + speechless ! ... :-) ... so finally government agreed to their protests.

She said that all the watergates were now controlled, the water level would stabilise over the next day or two.

The floodgate at Khlong Sam Wa would be operated systematically to make sure the Lat Krabang and Bang Chan industrial estates in the east were not affected.

As of 30 October 2011, it seems that Bangkok is a bit more stable in terms of flooding but still the flooding is serious as residents living along canals in parts of northern Bangkok were warned Sunday to be ready to evacuate if needed because of the spread of floods that have so far spared most of the Thai capital.


"The problem is not yet over. It's still serious," said Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.

"People who live on both sides of canals in Lak Si, Lad Prao, Chatuchak and Bang Khen: be ready to evacuate to safer areas," he said, referring to four northern Bangkok districts.


Based on the latest news, we are still unsure on how the flooding would affect Bangkok city so about 50,000 troops have been deployed in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces under an action plan to protect important establishments from inundation.


The situation is more serious at Charoen Krung road in Yan Nawa district of Bangkok which is now under more than 50 centimetres deep water, the reports said.

The overflow also inundated Songwad road in Bangkok’s Sampantawong district, according to the reports and water level was reported at 50-80 cm.


14 roads were closed in Bangkok due to flooding, and these are:

Northern of Bangkok:
1. Vibhavadi Rangsit: between National Memorial and Lak Si intersection
2. Phahon Yothin: between National Memorial and Soi Phahon Yothin 50
3. Khamphaeng Phet 6 (local road): between the entrance to Muang Ake housing estate to Thung Song Hong intersection
4. Songprapa: between Sri Saman and Kor Sor Bor intersections
5. Weluwanaram: the entire road
6. Liap Khlong Song: between Air Force Palathikarn and Sapan Poon intersections
7. Chantharubeksa: between Air Force Academy and Chantharubeksa intersections

Western Bangkok:
8. Charan Sanitwong: between Bang Phlad intersection and Sirindhorn interchange
9. Arun Amarin: between Arun Amarin intersection and Sirindhorn elevated road
10. Boromratchachonnani:between Pin Klao bridge and Sirindhorn elevated road
11. Boromratchachonnani:between Phutthamonthon 3 and Phutthamonthon 4 intersections
12. Sirindhorn: between Bang Phlat intersection and Sirindhorn elevated road
13. Uthayan: between Uthayan and Phutthamonthon 3 intersections
14. Sala Thammasop: the entire road


Here below there is a map of flooding situation in Bangkok as of 28 Oct 2011

Bangkok flooding update 28 Oct 2011

It said that the highest levels of water will be reached in Chao Phraya river during this weekend and more exactly on Saturday, 29 Oct 2011, after which water is expected to decrease but again, it is not sure yet how hard Bangkok will be hit by the flooding and for how long.

Bangkok flood worse case scenario

Wednesday morning I posted the worst case scenario which was confirmed now in the evening at a Thai local TV station. Now it is not anymore the worst case scenario but it is something that is going to happen in the next hours in Bangkok. Simply said, they tried to stop the water which was not the smartest idea as now there are 4,000 million cubic meters of water running down towards Bangkok city!

The worst case scenario in regards to Thailand and more exactly Bangkok flooding in 2011 is illustrated in the below graphic. So far various areas of Bangkok are already flooded like Don Muang, areas around Chao Phraya river, around Grand Palace and more. There are no floodings in central Bangkok yet (as of 26 October 2011).

Bangkok blooding - worse case scenario 2011

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra warned Bangkok residents in all areas last night to brace for flooding after advancing runoff from the north of Bangkok surged into Don Mueang airport yesterday.

In addition to the scenario presented above, the real situation map is right below in the illustration. 

Bangkok flooding situation - 26 October 2011

Khlong Hok Wa flood barrier is one of the two major barriers that block floodwater runoff from Pathum Thani from surging into the northern part of Bangkok. The other barrier is in tambon Lak Hok of Pathum Thani which connects to Bangkok's Don Muang district.

Floodwater destroyed some earth dykes near Lak Hok flood barrier raising concerns over pressure from a huge volume of water flowing into the city.

Don't forget to drop a note if you have any comments.