Flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains in Thailand has killed 22 people in recent days. File | Photo credit: AP
Flooding caused by heavy monsoon rains in Thailand has killed 22 people in recent days, disaster officials said on Monday (August 26, 2024), as they warned of flash floods this week.
“Nineteen other people were injured and more than 30,000 families were affected in 13 provinces in the past 10 days,” the Department of Disaster Prevention and Reduction said in a statement.
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The dead include 10 people, including a Russian couple, who were killed last week in a landslide in a residential area on Thailand’s popular resort island of Phuket.
The department also warned that flash floods were likely in about 31 provinces in the north and northeast of the kingdom until Thursday (Aug 22).
“The department has ordered local authorities to closely monitor the weather and keep teams and equipment ready,” a statement said.
“People should also follow weather forecasts and take warnings seriously,” it added.
Local authorities in Bangkok have warned residents living on the outskirts of the city and along the river to be prepared to move their belongings to higher grounds.
Three workers, including two Chinese nationals and a Myanmar man, also went missing on Monday after soil collapsed into a high-speed train tunnel under construction in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district.
Although Thailand experiences monsoon rainfall annually, human-caused climate change is causing the weather pattern to become more intense, increasing the potential for devastating floods.