Death toll rises to 29 in southern Thailand floods

BANGKOK: More than 30,000 people have been forced to flee their homes due to severe flooding in southern Thailand, where the death toll climbed to 29, officials said Wednesday.

Days more heavy rain are forecast in the area, which has already been battered by torrential floodwaters, with more than 155,000 households currently affected, according to the Thai government’s public relations department.

Five southern provinces have been hit – – Pattani, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung – forcing more than 33,000 people to leave their homes, the spokesperson for Thailand’s ministry of public health said in a statement.

The death toll now stands at 29, up from 25 reported on Tuesday.

The spokesperson for Ministry of Public Health said mental health teams have been deployed to provide support and care for those affected.

A woman from Tak Bai district, Narathiwat province, told state broadcaster Thai PBS that she had not returned home for three days, choosing to stay in a temporary shelter at a local temple after her house was inundated by floodwaters.

The Thai Meteorological Department warned Wednesday morning that low pressure moving from the South China Sea across Malaysia and the Andaman Sea was expected to bring heavy rainfall and further flooding to southern Thailand.

Death toll in Thailand flooding jumps to 25: disaster agency

The Department of Mineral Resources also warned of potential landslides and flash floods until December 5.

Disaster response teams were working to drain floodwater and evacuate flood victims to dry areas, the country’s disaster agency said on its Facebook page Wednesday morning.

The government has deployed rescue teams to assist affected residents and designated 50 million baht ($1.5 million) in flood relief for each province.

On Tuesday the Thai cabinet approved a 9,000 baht ($260) payment per family to support those affected.

The floods have also affected neighbouring Malaysia, where tens of thousands of people have been forced from their homes.

While Thailand experiences annual monsoon rains, scientists say climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.

Widespread flooding across the country in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.