43 dead in Thailand’s floods says government
NAN-F-17
Flood
Bangkok, Jan. 16, 2017 (dpa/NAN) Flash floods in Southern Thailand have left 43 dead since the beginning of the year, the country’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said on Monday.
The agency said that heavy rains since the beginning of the year is the caused of the worst floods in the region in decades
“Most of the 43 casualties were drownings, while more than 1.6 million people across 12 provinces have been impacted by the extreme weather as of Monday,’’ officials said.
Another round of unusually heavy rainfall is predicted in Thailand between Monday and Wednesday, according to the country’s meteorological department, prompting the government to issue another warning on Sunday.
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said that the flood situation in the south of the country had eased although certain areas remained inundated.
Sansern said the government had drained water overflow and dredged several waterways to prepare for the new round of rains predicted for this week.
Local residents were advised to move their belongings to higher ground and to monitor official announcements.
Meanwhile, a five-metre crocodile that slipped out of a zoo in Nakhon Si Thammarat province last week was captured over the weekend and returned to the zoo on Monday.
A group of the zoo’s smaller crocodiles remain unaccounted for however.
Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had called on the unseasonal heavy rainfall and flash floods in the southern region “the most severe in 30 years. (dpa/NAN)
(Edited by Celine-Damilola Oyewole/ Julius Enehikhuere)