Major flooding continued in 12 of the 14 southern provinces on Tuesday, with about 94,000 people severely affected and Trang suffering its worst inundation in 30 years.
Large areas of Chumphon, Krabi, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Pattani, Phatthalung, Phuket, Satun, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Trang and Yala provinces were under water. Only Ranong and Phangnga remained relatively dry.
Fourth Army chief Piyawat Nakwanich said an estimated 90,440 people were affected in 1,071 villages. "People are in trouble, with many places isolated," he said.
Authorities would be helping the victims until the situation returned to normal, Lt Gen Piyawat said.
Floodwater was receding in Kong Ra, Pa Bon and Tamot districts of Phatthalung, while runoff was still flooding into districts around Songkhla Lake, he said.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, 252 schools were closed, governor Chamroen Thiphayaphongthada said.
Chaiya Khocharat, railway inspector in Nakhon Si Thammarat's Thung Song district, said all south-bound trains were terminating at Thung Song junction. The State Railway was using buses to take passengers to destinations farther south.
Deputy Prime Minister Narong Pipatanasai said on Tuesday that Trang province was suffering under the most severe flooding in about 30 years.
"The problem results from the construction of roads without channels to carry runoff from Surat Thani. As a result, the floodwater rose one metre overnight," Adm Narong said. It would probably be 3-4 days before the floods receded in Trang.
In Chumphon, a 200-metre-long section of Asian Highway No. 41, a main highway to the South, covered in water 20-40 centimetres deep. Traffic was at a crawl, but the flood did not seem to be rising.
Asian Highway No.41 was under 20-40 centimetres of water in Muang district, Chumphon. (Photo by Amnart Thongdee)