Key Points
- Heavy rainfall between September 24 and 27 triggered severe flooding across Thailand, with the capital city of Bangkok declared a disaster zone.
- Over 52,000 households have been affected, and thousands of residents remain trapped in their homes without electricity or easy access to food.
- The Bangkok Community Help Foundation is distributing over 2,000 meals daily to vulnerable communities, including the elderly and low-income families in the city’s outskirts.
- Logistics and transportation disruptions have led to empty supermarket shelves and panic buying, impacting residents even in areas not directly hit by floodwaters.
Full Transcript (English)
Narrator: Between September 24th and 27th, heavy rains caused widespread flooding across Thailand. Parts of the capital, Bangkok, have suffered significant damage. According to authorities, approximately 52,000 households have been affected, with the number of evacuated residents reaching 4,900. On the 26th, the entire Bangkok area was designated as a disaster zone. Amidst these conditions, support activities are continuing.
Guest (Friso): Hello everybody here from Kheha Thani, which is a community of over 2,000 homes that has been flooded for the last few days, with the water from knee-high to middle-high. A lot of people are stuck in their homes, not able to walk out—it’s a long way to walk, especially for the elderly. It’s very tiring to do this, and it makes sense that a lot of people are stuck in their homes. Now, there’s also no electricity.
Guest (Friso): We are now in the Seri Thai area, where a lot of things are happening. A lot of water is still here. There’s a lot of people stuck in the lower-income community flats that are down the road here. We have the Governor here with us. In many areas of Bangkok, the water has already receded, but some places are still facing serious damage. We, the Bangkok Community Help Foundation, are here all day.
Volunteer: You can put it on the table. Is the baby okay?
Resident: Yes, thank you very much.
Volunteer: You’re welcome. Stay strong, okay?
Narrator: The food provided to the victims is prepared with the help of many volunteers.
Guest (Greg): Yesterday we distributed well over 2,000 meals, and again today it will be over 2,000 meals. Now, we will be going to the outskirts of Bangkok. What happened was they drained the inner city, and so now the water is in the outskirts. They need boats and that sort of thing. We will be doing some deliveries in the inner lower-income communities where people always need help, no matter what—even if it’s raining or not raining, they always need help. There are 39 communities. We have well over 1,000 volunteers. The volunteers are very important, along with the donors. We even have Japanese volunteers; they are very kind and very generous.
Narrator: A local woman who received a meal said that the area in front of her house had been submerged until yesterday.
Interviewer: Are you happy to receive this?
Local Woman: I am very happy.
Narrator: Meanwhile, even in areas without direct damage from the heavy rain, the impact on logistics and transportation is spreading. In some supermarkets, product deliveries have been delayed, and panic buying has occurred, leading to empty shelves. The impact of the flooding is extending beyond the disaster areas to the lives and logistics of people throughout the country. A swift recovery is hoped for as soon as possible.
