Hundreds of residents had to be evacuated last night (July 4) after flash floods battered homes on the outskirts of Bangkok.<br /><br />Torrential downpours from Tropical Storm Mun and a high tide caused the sea in the Gulf of Thailand to breach a four-metre-high embankment.<br /><br />Torrents of water gushed into dozens of nearby homes swamping the Khlongdan village in Samut Prakan province.<br /><br />Locals had to be rescued in boats with chest-high water submerging living rooms and shops.<br /><br />Resident Prasit Boonyon, 52, said: ''I was on my own sitting in the house when suddenly the water spilled in. Within five minutes it was as high as my waist. I had to store valuables at a high level and hurry out of the house because I was worried about the electricity mixing with the leaked water.''<br /><br />A depression in the upper South China Sea which intensified into Tropical Storm Mun caused rainstorms throughout Thailand on Wednesday and Thursday. <br /><br />The heavy rain and high tide are believed to have contributed to the flood.<br /><br />Rescue worker Bandit Chalawa from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation said: ''The water was about one metre high in some places. It was caused by an overflow at an embankment.''<br /><br />Samut Prakan governor Chatchai Uthaipan said the tide was nearly four metres high before it broke the banks.<br /><br />He added: ''Government officials responded quickly to evacuate people. We will now check the damage and find solutions to prevent it happening again.''
