Death toll in Thai flood crisis hits 140

AFP - Saturday, November 6

BANGKOK (AFP) - – Severe flooding across much of Thailand has cost the lives of at least 140 people, officials said Friday, with almost seven million affected.

Floods, which had crippled much of central and eastern Thailand in October, began to deluge the south of the country on Monday after days of downpours, leaving at least 30 people dead in the region.

The deaths across eight southern provinces bring the total nationwide toll to 140, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said, with homes and businesses inundated and farmland damaged.

In Songkhla, 13 people were killed while thousands of soldiers were sent on Thursday to help the stranded after flash floods surged through Hat Yai, a city popular with tourists from Singapore and Malaysia. The waters later receded.

The official toll does not include the bodies of 12 Thai fishermen found floating off the coast of Pattani. Police believe their trawler capsized on Monday night in rough seas.

Tourists have been caught up in the crisis as some popular holiday spots were hit by bad weather.

On Wednesday marine police boats rescued about 100 Thai and foreign tourists from Koh Tao, an island in Surat Thani province, after they were stranded for half a day, while Koh Samui airport was briefly closed.

Fifty of Thailand's 76 provinces have been affected by the floods but the high waters have subsided in 20 of these, officials said. Bangkok has been on standby but has so far avoided major flooding.

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