[Source: Reuters]

Residents of the Thai capital waded through waist-deep waters in some areas on Monday, while thousands sheltered in evacuation ​centres following flooding brought by weekend rains, as swelling reservoirs in an eastern province prompted evacuations.

Entire neighbourhoods in Bangkok were inundated and the ‌drainage network swamped after 320 mm (12.6 inches) of rain fell during two or three days last week, or nearly as much as the sprawling low-lying city usually gets in all of September.

“We have no more food to eat, because we didn’t prepare in time,” said Bangorn Dednuam, 60, as she braved intermittent showers in a hunt for food, after ​supplies ran out at home.

“We didn’t manage to pack our things in time, so there’s nothing stocked in the fridge.”

Bangkok is among 41 ​provinces across Thailand hit by floods since September 16 that killed at least eight people and disrupted more than 580,000 ⁠homes, the interior ministry said.

“Over 80,000 residents living in flooded areas are unable to leave their homes,” Unsit Sampuntharat, the ministry’s permanent secretary, said in ​a statement, adding that mobile kitchens and boats were being pressed into the relief effort.

“The goal is to provide three meals a day to all residents ​throughout the … flooding period and for at least another seven after waters recede,” he added.

The floods could cause economic damage of at least 11 billion baht ($327 million) nationwide, with losses likely to rise unless the situation improves, said Aat Pisanwanich of Rangsit University’s economics department.

“The flooding is expected to shave 0.3 percentage points off ​this year’s GDP growth, reducing growth to 2.1%, and cut third-quarter growth by about 0.5 percentage points to 1.7%,” he told Reuters.

Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, ​which has lagged regional peers since the COVID-19 pandemic, expanded 1.9% year-on-year in the year’s second quarter, but that was still down sharply from the previous quarter’s growth of 2.8%.

Bangkok ‌and the ⁠eastern region are likely to take the brunt of the impact, particularly wholesale and retail businesses, while industry and agriculture will suffer elsewhere, Aat added.

Economic damage to the capital itself could reach about 7 billion baht, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that put the nationwide impact at about 12.3 billion baht.