Floods caused by heavy rain have deluged 21 of Thailand's 76 provinces in the north, east and centre of the kingdom, affecting 693,550 people, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said in a statement.

Nearly 1,900 houses, 659 roads and 188,835 rai (30,554 hectares) of farmland have been destroyed in the floods, which began earlier this month, they said.

The cost of the damage is estimated at 28.55 million baht (S$1.2 million).

The department said that two people remained missing. It did not say how the 16 people were killed, but local media reports said most had been swept away in flood waters.

The English-language Bangkok Post and Nation newspapers also reported on Sunday that more than 50,000 people were suffering from water-borne diseases, and authorities are delivering food, drinking water and medicine to those affected. -- AFP