25 dead, over one million affected by floods in southern Thailand

Large parts of southern Thailand remain under floodwaters after more than a week of heavy monsoon rain as the government scrambled more emergency aid to over a million affected residents.

According to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, the floods, described as the worst experienced by the region in almost 50 years, have so far claimed 25 lives while two people have gone missing.

"About 1.1 million residents from 369,680 families in 12 provinces of southern Thailand were affected by the flooding," said the department's chief, Chatchai Promlert, in his daily update on the disaster today.

The 12 provinces of southern Thailand affected by the floods are Pattalung, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Pattani, Trang, Yala, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Chumpon, Ranong, Prachuab Kiri Khan and Krabi.

The widespread flooding has damaged five government installations, 218 roads and 59 bridges.

A heavy downpour in Prachuab Kiri Khan province last night also left the Phetkasem Highway, a major artery in southern Thailand to be cut off when one of the bridges linking to it was swept away by swift currents.

To solve the matter, the government has started building a temporary bridge to replace the damaged bridge, said the province's chief administration officer Somporn Patchimphet.

He also said that the province's Bangsapan district hospital was also flooded last night, forcing the authorities to evacuate the patients to higher floors and to nearby hospitals.

The flooding has also shuttered the airport in Nakhon Si Thammarat and trains to the deep south.

Meanwhile, the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) said the disaster will only have a minimal impact on the economy as the losses from the flooding was estimated to be not more than Baht15 billion (RM1 = 7.9 Baht).

The disaster will not have a big impact on the country's Gross Domestic Product, FTI chairman Chen Namchaisiri said to the local media.

Southern Thailand is a major rubber producing region, and its islands are a major attraction for foreign tourists. -- Bernama