Floodwaters receded in manyparts of the Thai capital Bangkok on Sunday after torrential rain eased, evenas residents in some flooded neighbourhoods remained stranded in their homes.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration declared the capitala disaster-affected area on Saturday after nearly 300 mm (12 inches) of rainfell over 48 hours, leading to flooding on major roads that left some carspartly submerged.

Arita Sanpoka, 33, a resident of a flooded community, saidtwo neighbours in their 80s remained stranded in their home because they couldnot get downstairs.

“Right now the water in my house is up to waist height,”Arita said. “Everything in the house is ruined.”

She said daily life had become difficult, with power cut offon the ground floor and the bathroom unusable as the water level continued torise.

The BMA said 233 temporary shelters had been prepared andabout 4,200 people were using the facilities.

The flooding affected neighbourhoods across the capital,with water entering homes and disrupting transport. Some areas became difficultto access, while residents were forced to wade through the water.

Rachthanichporn Leeput, 37, said she walked 2 to 3 km (1 to2 miles) through water after flooding in her area occurred rapidly on Fridayevening.

“The water rose very fast,” she said. “Many people, manyhouseholds, couldn’t prepare in time.”

Rachthanichporn, a delivery rider, said the flooding hadalso cut off her income. She had been wading through the water to buy suppliesand resell them to make up for lost earnings.

The BMA said on Sunday that rainfall had eased after alow-pressure system that had affected Bangkok over the previous days movedwestward.

Rain was expected to be lighter, although water levels inseveral major canals remained high as water continued to flow in fromsurrounding areas, it said.

The weather agency forecasts widespread thunderstorms andisolated heavy rain for Monday. 

Authorities were continuing to pump water from major canalsand assist residents in areas where flooding remained severe.