Residents placed sandbags around their homes as they braced for floods in northern Thailand.

Video shows locals packing empty sacks with sand as authorities warned that the Ping River in Chiang Mai province was overflowing on September 24.

The deluge first swept into the low-lying Pa Phao Nok community, swamping riverside restaurants and the Pa Daed underpass and spreading quickly due to heavy rain.

Officials said floods reached up to three feet in some areas.

The local irrigation office said the water level of the Ping River at Nawarat Bridge was at 15 feet at 5am on September 25. The critical level was at 12 feet.

Water pumps were being used to drain flood-stricken areas.

The Chiang Mai Municipality opened a temporary relief centre at a hospital for affected residents.

Local media reported that another wave of flooding is expected to hit homes on September 25 evening.

Thailand and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are in their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon leading to widespread flash floods.