Death toll from severe flooding in southern Thailand rises to over 80
As water levels began to recede, authorities announced Thursday that the death toll from severe flooding in the south of the country had risen to over 80, most of them in Songkhla, where 55 people were reported dead. The floods followed days of heavy rain and swept through around a million households across 12 provinces, stretching from Nakhon Si Thammarat to Yala, where communities are still dealing with damaged homes, blocked roads and patchy access to basic services. Many areas saw clearer streets in the morning, but parts of Pattani and Nakhon Si Thammarat stayed under deep water. The sharp rise in deaths in Songkhla pushed the overall toll higher, adding to the pressure on rescue teams. The government expects most rivers to drop back within their banks by the evening, but the damage to homes, roads and basic services remains severe. This severe flooding was driven by exceptionally heavy rain described as a once-in-three-centuries event, with Hat Yai recording 335 mm in a single day. Scientists say climate change likely intensified the storms by warming sea surface temperatures.
