Local people living along the Chao Phraya River in Pathum Thani province might be used to the annual flooding, but lack of state assistance in improving infrastructure is making it increasingly hard for them to earn a living.
Floods are a way of life for villagers in Bang Toei community in Sam Khok district. Currently, they are having to wade through knee-deep water, which is considered "moderate" compared to the catastrophic 2011 when flood levels reached as high as 2 metres in their homes and village.
But less severe flooding does not mean less hardship. On the contrary, the current situation still takes a considerable toll on businesses in the community. Villagers interviewed by the Bangkok Post lamented that their local economy is grinding to a halt as people cannot get out of their houses to run their everyday errands, and shop owners cannot open to trade.
In previous years, villagers still managed to get out, and carry on with their lives, despite the community having been inundated by the heavy rainfall.
Seng, the owner of a toy shop located in Ing-Nam Sam Khok market in tambon Bang Toei, told the Bangkok Post that the situation was different this time. "I could not sell any toys during the past month. Last year, parents still waded through the water and brought their kids to buy toys at my shop."
Sasinthorn Krachangdoen, the owner of a grocery shop who has joined the government's welfare card scheme for the poor, said that she has seen far fewer customers this year due to the floods. Her turnover has plummeted from 10,000 baht to 1,000 baht a day. Additionally, it is now even harder for her to receive deliveries to her grocery shop.
Ms Sasinthorn spends at least 10,000 baht every year on flood preparation and is always ready when the rains come. Yet, the downturn in her business is making life even harder than usual.
Both blamed the authorities for not building a temporary bridge this time around. In previous years, villagers had been able to get on with their lives somewhat normally as the bridge would allow them to carry out their daily tasks.
The situation this year is so bad that most of the shops in the market have closed down, including restaurants and local food shops in the community.
The flood level, the residents say, is around 30-50 centimetres and not unusually high, but the authorities' decision not to erect a temporary bridge has driven some of them into using boats to navigate their home town.
For many, all they can do at the moment is wait and hope the water levels recede so they can walk to what's left of the market and businesses can return to normal.
This stark reality contrasts with data offered by the Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation in Pathum Thani province, which listed "temporary bridges" among the items it had provided to the 2,345 families in 31 villages that have been affected by heavy deluges in the the Sam Khok area.
Meanwhile, the Department of Royal Irrigation said that it is going to discharge 1.423 billion cubic metres of water from 12 large-scale paddy fields in the Chao Praya River basin.
It aims to channel the water into the sea as fast as possible as the fields have become saturated to their maximum capacity and risk overflowing.