Heavy rain causes widespread flooding across Bangkok

Bangkok's authorities have declared the whole capital a disaster zone after days of severe flooding. Heavy rain fell between Thursday and Sunday, with more than 330 millimetres recorded in some parts of the city. Nearly 4,900 people had to leave their homes and move to emergency shelters. Around 52,000 households were affected. Some properties stayed underwater for about 30 hours. Officials advised people living near canals to move their belongings to upper floors. September is normally Bangkok's wettest month, but residents said this year's floods were worse than usual. The city's drainage systems could not handle the large amount of rain that fell in a short time. Forecasters warned that more heavy rain was expected to continue.