Flooding affects 4 million people across Thailand
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NASA Earth Observatory images released Friday showed widespread flooding across low-lying areas of Thailand in late September and early October 2026. The images showed land along the Bang Pakong River in Prachin Buri province and nearby agricultural areas and aquaculture facilities inundated on October 2, 2026. The images were compared to the same area at the same time in 2025. The right image showed the flooding while the left image showed normal conditions from 2025.
According to the announcement, the flooding stemmed from a low-pressure system that stalled over the area for several days in late September. The system was fueled by moisture and energy from the warm Gulf of Thailand nearby and delivered especially intense rains. Bangkok received nearly 300 millimeters of rain over a 48-hour period, according to news reports. That total was close to the average monthly rainfall for September of 344 millimeters.
Since mid-September, flooding occurred in 50 provinces across the country, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Over 4 million people were affected and dozens of deaths were reported.
Government agencies estimated that about 270,000 hectares of farmland, including rice fields and fruit orchards, were damaged. The flooding overwhelmed many cities and towns across the country.
The images were acquired with NASA-USGS Landsat satellites. They were processed in false color to better distinguish water from vegetation, developed land and other surfaces. The bright red shapes visible in the images were floating solar arrays. The NASA Earth Observatory images were processed by Lauren Dauphin using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
