Cars and houses are submerged in floodwaters in the Songkhla province of southern Thailand (Picture credit: AP)
Flooding across southern Thailand has left at least 145 people dead, with authorities warning that the toll has risen sharply as waters begin to recede and access improves. Government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat confirmed the updated figure at a press briefing in Bangkok on Friday, saying most fatalities were in Songkhla province, which alone recorded 110 deaths, as per news agency AP.More than 1.2 million households and 3.6 million people have been affected across 12 southern provinces, according to the department of disaster prevention and mitigation. Although water levels have eased in most districts, several areas remain inundated. The Meteorological Department said rainfall has subsided but cautioned that thunderstorms could still hit parts of the south, AP reported.Songkhla, particularly the Hat Yai area near the Malaysian border, has suffered some of the worst conditions. Rescue teams gained access to neighbourhoods previously cut off by deep floodwaters and recovered additional bodies. As per news agency AFP, a hospital in the province reported its morgue had exceeded capacity and was relying on refrigerated trucks. “We will now move into the rehabilitation phase and work to restore cities to normal as quickly as possible,” said Paradorn Prissananantakul, director of the flood relief operations centre. More than 14,000 people have been evacuated so far, according to AFP. Images from the disaster zones show overturned cars, crushed power poles and debris strewn across roads. Streets were left impassable, low-rise buildings submerged, and entire communities stranded as floodwaters surged earlier in the week.The southern Thai flooding forms part of a wider pattern of severe monsoon damage across Southeast Asia, where more than 300 people have been killed in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia combined.Climate experts say extreme weather linked to climate change has intensified storm systems and increased rainfall in the region, contributing to the severity of recent flooding.
