Pattaya and the surrounding areas were hit by heavy rains all through Thursday night and by late Friday morning the onslaught began.
Heavy rain and strong winds relentlessly pounded the city and within minutes the roads, sois, communities and homes were knee-deep with some areas 1-2 meters underwater.
Residents called city rescue units to help save them and their belongings but the extent of the damage was vast and there was nothing they could really do.
Residents in low-lying areas hastily moved their belongings to higher ground in their homes and those who could not manage to do so, saw their life’s belongings float away in the murky waters.
The highways and roads didn’t fare better as all the usual low-lying areas were under 1-2 meters of water. Cars were stranded with water reaching up to the wind shields and many were totally inundated.
City hall rushed pumps to 7 locations hit the hardest. But apparently they have lost the race to the tremendous volume of rain water that poured down for hours.
Fortunately there were no injuries or deaths reported.
As of late afternoon many parts of the area were still under high water. It would take many more hours or even days before the streets and communities dry out and the people can slowly salvage what’s left of their lives and hope for drier days or that the city would finally solve this chronic flooding problem in their communities.
The Meteorological Department has forecast more rain over the weekend.