Bangkok authorities declared a flood disaster across the Thai capital on Saturday after almost 48 hours of heavy rain left canals full, roads submerged and residents wading through deep water.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt urged people to stay home after almost 300 millimetres of rain fell, while Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he was cutting short a trip to London to return.

"The water keeps coming in. It's hard to go out now. It's like at my waist level now," said Somkid Pheuk-ngam, 67, a vendor who lives near a canal just north of central Bangkok.

Widespread deluges across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.

Chadchart said mid-afternoon on Saturday that the situation had "stabilised", adding: "If more rainwater doesn't fall in the area, it will be solved."

"If the rain stops, it is expected that it will take 2-3 days to drain the floodwater," he said in an update broadcast on social media.

Almost continuous rain since Thursday afternoon has swelled Bangkok's network of canals, sending murky water into surrounding homes, restaurants, shops and alleyways.

September is the peak of the rainy season in Bangkok but it has been wetter than usual, according to figures from the drainage and sewage department. (AFP)




Edited by Azam Khan