Rumour Bangkok faces submersion denied by Anti-Fake News Centre

The centre was responding to rumours that 10 districts in the capital are at risk of disastrous flooding, calling the speculation “distorted”.

It explained that while most of Bangkok sits around 1.5 metres above the mean sea level, some areas are located around 1 metre below sea level.

Heavy rain, tropical storms or seawater intrusion could trigger flooding if they overwhelm drainage capacity in low-lying Bangkok, the centre said.

The capital has also been sinking about 30 millimetres a year due to soil subsidence, but this has dropped since groundwater pumping was halted in the area, it added.

Meanwhile, seawater levels in the Gulf of Thailand are increasing by an average of 3mm a year, with a rise of 1 to 1.5 metres projected over the next century amid global warming, it said. However, the threat of disastrous and prolonged flooding in the capital is not imminent.