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People make their way along a flooded street in Bangkok on the 27th local time following torrential rain. / Reuters-Yonhap

A man believed to be South Korean remains unaccounted for after being swept away by floodwaters near the popular Thai resort city of Pattaya.

According to local outlets including The Pattaya News on the 27th local time, three men were walking along a flooded street in Nong Prue near Pattaya, Chonburi Province, central Thailand, around 5:00 a.m. on the 24th when two of them fell into a roadside drainage channel. CCTV footage captured one of the men managing to climb back out, while the other was swept away by the swift current and disappeared.

Local authorities dispatched search teams, including divers, to scour the drainage ditch and adjacent waterways, but found no trace of the missing man. The whereabouts of the two men who were with him also remain unconfirmed following the incident.

Police located clothing resembling what the men wore in the CCTV footage at a residence about 1 kilometer from the scene, where the trio is presumed to have lived. The homeowner stated that three South Korean men moved into the property on the 12th.

With torrential rain continuing in the Thai capital of Bangkok for a third straight day, the entire city has been declared a flood disaster zone. Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt designated all 50 districts across the capital as disaster areas on the same day. Governor Chadchart noted that rising water levels and flooding around the city's canals are the most critical.

The flooding was triggered by torrential downpours that began on the 24th. Nearly 300 mm of rain pounded Bangkok over a 48-hour span starting on the 24th. Water inundated areas primarily across central and eastern parts of the city, leaving vehicles half-submerged on major thoroughfares and severely disrupting transportation as pedestrians waded through waist-deep waters.

As water levels continued to climb, the number of displaced residents rapidly mounted. According to authorities, around 200 temporary evacuation centers were established throughout the city, providing shelter to roughly 4,200 residents.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration designated schools as additional emergency shelters and urged citizens to refrain from unnecessary travel and outings. Military forces were deployed to disaster scenes to support relief efforts, including building shelters and operating field kitchens.

City operations were also partially paralyzed. Numerous businesses in downtown Bangkok shut their doors on the 26th, and residents flocked to major supermarkets to stock up on groceries and basic necessities.

While Suvarnabhumi International Airport continues normal operations, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has advised departing passengers to head to the airport two to three hours earlier than usual to account for traffic gridlock.

Damage from the downpours is expanding well beyond the metropolitan region. According to the Associated Press, more than 84,000 residents across 21 provinces nationwide, including the central region, have been affected by the flooding as of this date.

                                                                                                          Nam Mi-kyung