Death toll from Thailand monsoon floods hits seven

BANGKOK – The death toll from floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains in Thailand rose to seven, the authorities said on Sept 27, as relief efforts continued.

More than 260,000 people across several provinces along the Chao Phraya river were impacted by flooding this week, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said in a statement.

The nation’s disaster agency

initially reported on Sept 23 four deaths

across central Thailand but has now revised the figure up to seven.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited Ayutthaya province on Sept 27, the hardest hit, in one of his first trips since taking office.

Flanked by disaster prevention agency workers, he ordered the authorities to distribute survival kits, stack sandbags and monitor landslide-prone areas.

“We have a whole team to help relieve the people’s hardship and we plan to respond to your needs,” he told residents.

Thailand was not hit by

Severe Tropical Storm Bualoi

, which struck the Philippines earlier this week, but the meteorological department has warned of heavy rain in the coming days.

The kingdom regularly records heavy rainfall from June to September, but experts say human-induced climate change has intensified extreme weather, making conditions increasingly unpredictable.

In northern Thailand in August, five people were killed and 15 were injured in landslides and flooding triggered by Typhoon Kajiki.

Widespread flooding across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes around the country. AFP