(UDHAYAM, BANGKOK) – 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, foreign media reports.
According to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department of Thailand, 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 on Tuesday (Jan 10).
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 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 (US$421 million).
