BANGKOK, Oct. 15 -- Satellite images taken on October 2 show floodwater filling a river valley in Thailand that, at the same time of year in 2025, was mostly green farmland. As of October 12, 20 provinces and Bangkok still had flooded areas, and the numbers that describe the disaster do not add up to one picture.

NASA's Earth Observatory published the Landsat images on October 9. Some of the flooding likely stemmed from a low-pressure system that stalled over the area for several days in late September, the observatory said, fed by moisture from the warm Gulf of Thailand. Bangkok received nearly 300 millimeters of rain in 48 hours, according to news reports cited by NASA, close to the city's average for all of September, 344 millimeters....