Flooding has affected more than 64,400 households in nine southern provinces since Sunday and persists in seven provinces, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported on Tuesday.
Days of heavy rain from Sunday to Tuesday brought flash floods, landslides and gusty winds to the nine provinces of Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Phatthalung, Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat.
A total of 64,626 households in 1,425 villages of 66 districts have been hit by flooding, the announcement said.
Flooding remained in seven provinces – Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. A total of 61,939 families in 1,361 villages of 58 districts were affected. Three deaths were reported in Narathiwat.
In Yala, severe flooding ravaged all eight districts, affecting more than 5,000 households. One boy was killed and a girl injured by a flood that also swept away another boy, who remained missing.
On Tuesday, the search continued for Abdulrohhaman Isor, 14, a student at an Islamic school in Muang district of Yala. The boy fell into the floodwater on Sunday and had not been seen since, the provincial centre for disaster and landslide operations reported on Tuesday.
The flooding also claimed the life of a 13-year-old boy, Ifan Jaetae, and injured a 5-year-old girl, Arisa Jaetae, both of Yaha district. The children fell into a water retention area during the flooding.
Two days of downpours caused the overflowing of the Pattani and Sai Buri rivers that affected 23,605 people from 5,525 households in all eight districts of the border province – Than To, Bannang Sata, Yaha, Raman, Muang, Krong Pinang, Kabang and Betong. A total of 239 villages were inundated, according to the operations centre.
Officials evacuated 105 members of 30 families. Twenty houses were damaged by the flooding that swept over 5,591 rai of farm land. Seventeen roads, two bridges, two bridge necks and 21 power poles were damaged. One mosque was flooded.
As of 6am on Tuesday, water levels in the overflowing Pattani and Sai Buri rivers were still higher than the river banks by 1.25 metres, measured in Muang district, and 2.47 metres in Raman district, respectively. A huge volume of river water is flooding nearby communities.
