Bangkok is used to absorbing the sudden afternoon downpours that inundate the city during the rainy season.
asserted
that → use → season
Even streets in many central high-rise districts can briefly turn into rivers, with rats and cockroaches racing out of sewers and taking temporary refuge on trees and buildings as the subterranean world is flushed out.
But
asserted
world → turn → trees
every city has a breaking point, and this year rain fell so fast and so hard that whole neighbourhoods of the Thai capital have been transformed, not into rivers, but stagnant lakes.
asserted
neighbourhoods → have → rivers
In parts of the city, roughly 300mm of rain – the equivalent of half a year of average rainfall in London – fell in about two days.
asserted
mm → fall → days
About 40 people died in flood-related incidents, according to the government.
uncertain
people → die → government
Thousands of people stayed in more than 230 shelters across the city, authorities said.
asserted
authorities → stay → city
Suleemas Kurangkul, a 73-year-old resident of a block of flats whose ground floor stairs are still under water, said last weekend’s rain was not the usual evening storm but was constant, “like all day, all night”.
asserted
rain → say → day
“The water just kept rising,” said Suleemas, whose flat is above the waterline on the second floor.
asserted
flat → rise → floor
By the time she and her neighbours received a mobile phone warning, it was too late, and the street-level water was waist-high.
asserted
water → receive → warning
The 1970s Khlong Chan flat compound in north-east Bangkok where Suleemas lives has become a symbol of the disaster.
asserted
Suleemas → become → disaster
Photos have been shared across Thailand of the flats rising out of the brownish water, with the rooftops of parked cars barely peeking above the surface, although the authorities had managed to drain away the worst of it by Thursday.
asserted
authorities → share → Thursday
Later in the week, during a brief respite in the rain, Suleemas said the water had receded somewhat.
asserted
water → say → rain
“People are so happy to see the sunshine,” she said.
asserted
she → see → sunshine
“Yet, the smell is getting stronger.
asserted
smell → get → ?
So much debris and rubbish floating all over the place.”
asserted
debris → float → place
Built on a vast floodplain of the Chao Phraya River, Bangkok, a megacity of millions, relies on a network of muddy canals to drain water, as well as pumps and dikes.
asserted
Bangkok → build → water
But concrete construction has destroyed much of the canal network, and the city is unable to cope.
asserted
city → destroy → network
The government has declared a flood disaster across all 50 of the city’s districts.
asserted
government → declare → districts
Some neighbourhoods have turned into dystopian scenes, with people using blow-up paddling pools or, in one case, a floating fridge, as boats to reach their homes.
asserted
neighbourhoods → turn → homes
One man was arrested for riding a jetski along a main road.
asserted
man → arrest → road
“It’s a lesson,” said Chaleerat Chamrasporn, 55, a resident.
asserted
Chamrasporn → ’ → ?
“The kids are into doomsday-themed content, so now they can see what the ‘end of the world’ is actually like, or rather, that this is just the beginning.
asserted
this → theme → world
Flooding has also disrupted Bangkok’s main Suvarnabhumi airport, with about half of Thai Airways’ workforce unable to report for work at one point this week, causing thousands of items of luggage to pile up and forcing flight cancellations.
asserted
thousands → disrupt → cancellations
Many schools have closed, and with much of the capital in gridlock even people in less affected areas have been stuck at home.
asserted
people → close → home
Thailand’s prime minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, told reporters that Bangkok’s metropolitan area was still at risk from flood waters flowing in from the north, and said a war room had been set up to monitor the situation.
asserted
room → tell → situation
Thailand’s weather agency has forecast more heavy rain for next week.
asserted
agency → forecast → week
It is part of a pattern that seems to be setting in this part of the world.
asserted
that → seem → world
South-east Asia has already seen a worsening of extreme floods, scientists say, a trend that is set to worsen as fossil fuel pollutants bake the planet further.
asserted
pollutants → see → planet
Hot seas evaporate more water and warm air can hold more moisture, allowing downpours to crash down with far more force.
asserted
downpours → evaporate → force
“In central Thailand, I can see from my maps, we have already seen a small but significant trend towards extreme rainfall,” said Nikolaos Skliris, an ocean scientist at the University of Southampton who has studied heavy rain in the region.
asserted
who → see → region
“In the long-term, all models show this will be amplified – more rainfall, and more extreme rainfall.”
asserted
this → show → term
It is too early for scientists to attribute these particular rains to climate breakdown without doing a study.
asserted
scientists → attribute → study
They were caused by a low-pressure system that moved from an unusually warm South China Sea over Cambodia and Vietnam before getting stuck above Bangkok, which was fairly cool, data from Copernicus Climate Pulse showed.
asserted
data → cause → Pulse
The picture is complicated by the emergence of an abnormally strong El Niño, a cyclical weather pattern that brings record heat and more violent extremes around the world.
asserted
that → complicate → world
Its presence typically leads to drier summer conditions in south-east Asia but recent research suggests it still exacerbates days with extreme rainfall.
uncertain
it → lead → rainfall
Naim Laeni, a consultant and part-time university lecturer who co-authored a study on Bangkok’s flood resilience, said authorities had underestimated the strength of the rains, which persisted for days.
asserted
which → co → days
The city’s drainage canals can handle about 60mm of rain an hour, rising to 80mm in upgraded sections, but localised bursts exceeded this while leaving too little time between periods of stress.
asserted
bursts → handle → stress
“The government did not communicate the seriousness,” said Laeni.
asserted
Laeni → communicate → seriousness
“Usually in Bangkok we receive heavy rain for a few hours, not for days.”
asserted
we → receive → days
Neighbouring Myanmar has suffered from the same weather system, with flash floods and blocked roads complicating rescue efforts in the country.
asserted
floods → neighbour → country
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
