Floods claim 34 lives and disrupt 44 provinces
A survey by the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department has found that floods caused by two storms since early July have killed 34 people and affected 609,425 families in 44 provinces.
The department’s director general, Chatchai Promlert, told a press conference yesterday that floods had receded in 38 provinces, while five provinces were classified as still flooded. The five provinces are Kalasin, Nakhon Phanom, Roi Et, Yasothon, Ubon Ratchathani and Ayutthaya. Chatchai was updating the flooding situation following heavy rains triggered by storms Talas and Sonca between July 5 and August 18. He said 2,574 houses were damaged during the period and 1.89 million people from 609,425 families in 14,105 villages and 43 communities in 302 districts of 44 provinces were affected.
At present, 98,595 people from 32,677 families in 890 villages in 23 districts of six provinces were still affected by flooding due to the two storms. He said eight other provinces were hit by flooding because of the influence of the southwest monsoon from August 12 to 18. The eight provinces are Trang, Satun, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, Phichit, Nan, Chiang Rai and Trat. A total of 23,625 people were affected, he said.