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Thai Cabinet Approves Sept 28-29 Special Holiday for Bangkok and Three Provinces Amid Flooding
Reporter 欧亚时报编辑部
Thailand's Cabinet convened a special meeting on September 27, chaired by Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, and resolved to designate Monday, September 28, and Tuesday, September 29, as special public holidays for government offices in Bangkok and three neighboring provinces — Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan. The move is the government's latest response to severe flooding caused by days of continuous heavy rain, aimed at reducing the risks residents face commuting while giving agencies more time to drain floodwater and deliver relief.
The special holidays came in response to unusually intense rainfall that struck Bangkok from late September. The rain event lasted roughly five days, from September 24 to 29, and some parts of the capital received more than 300mm of accumulated rainfall within just 48 hours, with some areas exceeding 330mm — an intensity rarely seen in recent years. The downpours left more than 37 major roads flooded and paralyzed traffic across the city. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) formally declared the capital a disaster area on the morning of September 26, one of the highest-level emergency responses issued during this flood crisis. Meteorological authorities said the extended heavy rain was driven by an active low-pressure system combined with a strengthened monsoon trough.
The BMA subsequently declared all 50 districts of Bangkok disaster-affected areas, underscoring the scale and severity of the crisis. Lat Krabang district in eastern Bangkok was hit hardest, with the number of affected residents peaking at around 40,000 at one point, while Bang Kapi, Khannayao, Lak Si and Saphan Sung districts remained under prolonged high water levels that proved difficult to drain. Several of the city's key commercial thoroughfares — including Phetchaburi, Ramkhamhaeng, Asok, Sukhumvit and Lat Phrao roads — were also flooded at various points, severely disrupting normal business activity in multiple commercial districts.
The flooding has had a wide-ranging impact on residents' daily lives. Authorities estimate roughly 52,000 households were affected, and nearly 4,900 people were evacuated to temporary shelters, including bedridden patients, elderly residents and other vulnerable groups, some of whom were moved to hospitals or other medical facilities for care. The BMA ordered the closure of more than 400 city-run schools on September 28 to protect students and staff, even as rainfall eased in some areas while flooding persisted in outer districts. Officials estimated that even after the rain stops, fully draining the floodwater from the city could take a further two to three days.
According to the Cabinet announcement, the special holiday applies only to government agencies in Bangkok, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani and Samut Prakan — a localized administrative arrangement rather than a nationwide public holiday. Government online services will continue operating normally, so residents can still handle official business digitally. State enterprises, financial institutions, private businesses and hospitals were left to decide for themselves, based on necessity and local conditions, whether to close or remain open. The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) said it would trade as usual and would not be affected by the special holiday, in a move meant to preserve market confidence.
To complement the special holiday and further ease residents' travel burden, the Ministry of Transport announced an extension of toll-fee exemptions on eight expressway routes nationwide, extending the fee waiver through midnight on September 29. The measure is meant to help residents in flood-affected areas travel home or take alternative routes more easily, reducing delays and crowding at toll booths. This transport measure is seen as an important complement to the special holiday policy, reflecting the government's attention to residents' actual travel needs during the crisis.
The flooding has also inflicted significant economic damage on Bangkok. The University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce's Center for Economic and Business Forecasting estimated that flood-related losses in Bangkok between September 25-29 alone could reach roughly 12.28 billion baht, equivalent to about 0.066% of Thailand's annual GDP, while other estimates put nationwide losses as high as roughly 25.3 billion baht. Restaurants, retail and tourism have been especially hard-hit; some restaurant operators reported revenue drops of up to 80%, as traffic chaos kept customers away and prevented staff from reaching work, compounded by disrupted fresh-produce supply chains and rising prices, with reports of panic-buying of food and essential goods in some areas.
Prime Minister Anutin had been on an overseas visit to London but cut the trip short and returned to Thailand on September 27 as the domestic flood crisis worsened, immediately chairing an urgent meeting to plan the response. He ordered agencies responsible for meteorology, water management, disaster mitigation, irrigation, transport and security to use a single unified set of data for decision-making, and to coordinate closely with the BMA and affected neighboring provinces to prevent delays caused by inconsistent information. Anutin pledged to speed up drainage and relief efforts, saying the government would prioritize the worst-hit areas and vulnerable groups.
On the ground, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives have deployed water pumps, trucks and rubber boats to assist affected residents. Anutin himself visited flood-hit communities, including the Khlong Chan housing flats, to check on residents and hand out relief supplies. The government confirmed it would allocate more than 4 billion baht from the remaining central budget for nationwide flood relief and recovery. Officials said relief supplies — including food, drinking water and daily essentials — would be prioritized for the worst-hit areas and the most vulnerable residents.
The flooding also triggered strong public reaction. Bangkok's floods generated more than 40 million social media engagements, as residents tracked rain warnings, flooded roads and conditions in their own neighborhoods online; at its peak, the volume of related posts surged from about 117 an hour under normal conditions to roughly 6,400 an hour, reflecting intense public demand for information and updates on relief efforts. Amid criticism of the drainage system's capacity and management efficiency, Prime Minister Anutin publicly apologized to affected residents on September 29, saying the government would not be discouraged by criticism and would listen to public feedback while speeding up drainage and assistance. Officials also acknowledged that canals across Bangkok were near or at full capacity after days of continuous rain, making pumping operations considerably more difficult.
As of September 29, flooding in parts of Bangkok showed signs of easing as rainfall intensity decreased, though water remained in outer districts and drainage work continued, with multiple agencies still monitoring river and canal levels closely to prevent a rebound once the special holiday ends. The special holiday declared for Bangkok and the three neighboring provinces is one part of a broader, integrated response by the Thai government to this flood crisis, spanning administrative holidays, toll-fee waivers, a unified inter-agency command structure, dedicated emergency funding and the distribution of relief supplies, all aimed at restoring normal city life as quickly as possible. Analysts say the swift response and cross-jurisdictional coordination could offer useful lessons for how Thailand prepares for seasonal heavy rain, urban flooding and future drainage infrastructure improvements.
