Bangkok Floodwaters Turn Streets Into Emergency Markets
Flooded roads in Bangkok have become makeshift markets as residents seek food and vendors struggle to keep businesses running after severe rains affected 41 Thai provinces.
BANGKOK, Thailand — Floodwaters have turned parts of Bangkok into makeshift markets, as vendors and shoppers navigate submerged streets after severe flooding struck 41 provinces across Thailand, disrupting daily life and affecting hundreds of thousands of homes.
On Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, water at one market area near a shopping center reached the thighs of adults. Vendors placed fish, vegetables and other goods on rafts or floating polystyrene boxes, while customers waded or paddled between stalls to buy food and other necessities.
Vendors take their stalls into the water
Marisa Singprakhon, a vendor whose shop is behind a market in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi district, said rising and fluctuating water levels made it difficult for customers to reach her store.
“It’s difficult for customers to get inside because the water level keeps rising and falling,” she said.
Water in the area had reached about knee height, discouraging customers from staying inside the flooded shop. “So we have to stand out in the water to serve customers,” Marisa said.
Other vendors faced similar obstacles, with flooded shops and blocked access pushing them to sell from the street instead. The improvised stalls offered residents a way to buy essentials while regular businesses remained difficult to reach.
Residents seek food as supplies run short
Customer Bangorn Dednuam said she had run out of food at home and had not had time to prepare before the flooding.
“We didn’t have any food left because we weren’t prepared in time. We didn’t have time to pack our things, so there was no food in the refrigerator. I had to go out to buy food because there was nothing left to eat,” she said.
Bangkok is among 41 Thai provinces affected by flooding since Sept. 16. Thailand’s Interior Ministry said the floods had killed at least eight people and affected 580,000 households.
Bangkok authorities declared the capital a disaster-affected area on Saturday, Sept. 26, after nearly 330 millimeters (13 inches) of rain fell in 48 hours from Thursday, Sept. 24. The downpour flooded major roads, submerged cars and disrupted businesses across the city.
