Bangkok declares flood disaster as heavy rain submerges roads

Bangkok declared a flood emergency disaster after 48 hours of heavy rain left roads submerged and overwhelmed drainage. All 50 districts are emergency zones; people were urged to stay home and those near canals to move belongings to upper floors. More rain is forecast through Sunday and the week. Somkid Pheuk-ngam, living near a canal north of central Bangkok, said water reached waist level and her shop had been closed two days; she said levels look worse than in 2011, when hundreds died in nationwide flooding, though no casualties are reported in Bangkok yet.