BANGKOK (AFP)

Thousands of Bangkok residents awoke in shelters on Sunday after flooding triggered by days of heavy rain in the Thai capital inundated homes and roads, with some starting to dry out their homes and belongings.

Nearly 4,900 people have been evacuated to shelters, with around 52,000 households affected by the floods, which prompted a disaster declaration across the capital, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

More than 330 millimetres of rain fell in some areas of the city between Thursday and Sunday, the weather agency said.

Thailand is used to wet weather and September is the peak of the rainy season, but several Bangkok residents said this year seemed worse.

“Our house was underwater for about 30 hours,” office worker Kosin Nilset, who lives along the Premprachakorn canal on the outskirts of the capital, told AFP on Sunday morning.

“This time, the water level is higher than the 2011 flood,” the 44-year-old said. “At least tap water and electricity are working."

Water levels inBangkok's network of canals remained high on Sunday morning, with authorities working to speed up drainage, the BMA said.

More rain was forecast throughout Sunday for Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, but would begin to tap off on Monday, it said.

Scientists warn that the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events will increase as the planet continues to heat up because of fossil fuel emissions.

Hundreds of city schools will be closed on Monday, according to the BMA.

Some convenience stores had empty shelves over the weekend as residents raced to buy essentials.

The prime minister's office asked the public to avoid panic-buying and warned that price gouging was a criminal offence.