Thailand Floods

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The floods in Thailand are making it pretty much impossible to travel to quite a few tourist destinations. The Google team has created a map where it shows which areas have been affected by the flood.

A couple of days ago the water has reached Bangkok too – however, most areas where tourists go are still dry (not affected by the flood). Most of Sukhumvit Road (including the area where Siam Paragon, MBK, Siam Discovery and Siam Center are located) don’t see any flooding. So you can still go shopping in Bangkok without a problem.

Khao San road is also unaffected as of now.

Areas near the river and the outskirts of Bangkok (particularly in the far eastern districts) see some amount of flooding, as does Rangsit in the North. However, this isn’t relevant for tourists, as mosts never get to see any of these areas anyways. However, the Bangkok governor also stated that “All zones in Bangkok stand an equal chance of being flooded because we can’t predict the water flow”. However, the Eastern & Northeastern provinces have a higher risk, so I think maybe that “equal chance” isn’t the best wording.

Does the Bangkok airport still operate?

The airport also is still dry and the authorities in charge announced that there won’t be any flooding at the airport either.

What’s causing the flooding in Bangkok?

The main reason why Bangkok is threatened by the floods now is that a lot of water is released from the dams in the north, and that coincides with the high tide and heavy rains. So three factors come into play here.

The most critical period will be from today till October 17, and then again between October 26-31 (when another high tide takes place). After that, all experts agree that the situation in Bangkok will be fine again – the only people in Thailand who will be affected for the floods are those further up North near rivers, since the flooding there could stay in place for several more months.

Public Transportation in Bangkok

The skytrain (BTS) and the subway (MRT) are still running normal. The small river taxi on Khlong Saen Saeb however has stopped operating for now (although it is used mainly by locals and just very rarely by tourists), whereas the big river taxi on the Chao Phraya river is still running.

If you want to take the train from Bangkok going north in the direction of Chiang Mai – that won’t work, the train service to the north has been interrupted. (If you have already purchased a ticket, you can get a full refund).

Buses are driving North, but they are taking a long detour because the Asian Highway (which goes up directly) has been flooded and cars can’t drive there anymore for now, so it’s best to either fly to Chiang Mai, wait till the situation improves or be prepared for a very long road trip.

Important phone numbers:

  • The main flood hotline is 1111 and then press 5
  • Tourists can call 1672 for local weather conditions & flood updates 1672 (TAT Information Line)
  • Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department Hotline: 1784
  • Royal Irrigation Department Hotline: 1460
  • Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Hotline: 1555
  • BMS’s flood response center 02-2485115
  • JS100 community radio: 1137
  • Emergency Medical Institute of Thailand: 1669
  • Highway police: 1193
  • Royal Irrigation Department Hotline: 1460
  • Highway Hotline: 1586
  • Transport Co.,Ltd. Hotline (inter-provincial bus service): 1490

Important web sites

Southern Thailand

No provinces in the South have been affected by the floods. The following provinces are all completely fine:

  •  Chumphon
  • Phuket
  • Krabi
  • Ranong
  • Nakhon Si Thammarat
  • Songkhla
  • Narathiwat
  • Satun
  • Pattani
  • Surat Thani
  • Phang Nga
  • Trang
  • Phatthalung
  • Yala

National Parks

Some national parks have been temporarily closed or are only partly accessible. Click here for more details on Thai national parks.

Ayutthaya

Ayutthaya is one of the areas that is currently most affected by floods. This video gives you an impression of what it’s like:

 

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