As Thailand endures its worst flood in half a century, residents waded through dirty water in the country’s capital Friday in a desperate attempt to save their belongings.

A teary-eyed woman named Surirat Prapankarn was among them.

She hails from a suburb outside Bangkok and could be seen lugging her sodden possessions amid waist-high water.

Pulling her things out of her front room, Prapankarn said she is overcome with sadness when she looks at her destroyed home and at what has been lost.

She wondered how she will find food for her 16 dogs.

The flooding has already killed 320 people, with nearly 9 million others affected, authorities said. Overall damage from the floods could top $2 billion, with the worst yet to come as the waters destroy shops and paralyze factories nationwide, the Thai Finance Ministry said.

Waters rose overnight in the northern Bangkok suburb of Rangsit, giving residents little chance to save what they could.

The lucky few moved out of flooded homes by boats, or anything that could floats. The rest waded through water with plastic bags balanced on their heads.

Pets could be seen tucked into coats or pushed inside in boats. Children, meanwhile, seemed to struggle to stay on their feet against the fast-moving water.

Another resident, named Saisamorn Pongsairak, said she lived in this inundated Rangsit neighborhood all her life.

“I woke up this morning around 2 a.m. and the water was only at my ankle high. But now it is up to my waist,” said she said.

Pongsairak runs a food store, which she said she refuses to close, frying chicken in waist-high water on an elevated stove.

Thailand’s prime minister, meanwhile, has asked all Bangkok residents to move their belongings to higher ground as government workers endeavor to contain flooding inching toward the capital city.

Government spokeswoman Thitima Chaisaeng had said the move was a precautionary measure.

To protect their cars, residents double parked along elevated highways, making it nearly impossible to navigate around a city where traffic is congested on a normal day.

Until now, they had hoped that strengthening flood barriers and widening canals would keep populated areas safe.

But now the government is trying a different tack: opening floodgates to relieve pressure on dams and levees and send the water toward the sea.

The decision to divert water through canals in Bangkok means parts of the city, and its surrounding suburbs such as Rangsit, are flooded.

On Friday, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said officials were considering which areas to let the water flow through to minimize impact on the populace.

They hope the water will not overflow the canals and spill into the streets, bringing the kind of misery to the capital city that its northern suburbs have seen.

As a precaution, the Thai Army was bringing in 100 boats to help those trapped in their houses.

On Thursday, authorities expressed confidence that the main international airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport, was prepared to withstand the water’s impact. Airport officials said a 3.5-meter-high flood prevention wall protects the airport. Thailand’s derives a significant portion of its revenue from tourism.