/s3/static.nrc.nl/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/26084848/web-2608BUIthailand.jpg "At least 22 people have been killed in floods caused by monsoon rains in Thailand.")
At least 22 people have been killed in floods and mudslides in Thailand in recent days, Thai media reported on Monday, citing figures from local authorities. Nineteen people have been injured in the natural disaster so far.
Flooding caused by ongoing monsoon rains is said to have affected at least 30,000 Thai households. In five northern provinces, including Chiang Rai, Sukhothai and Prai, the risk of flooding remains high, according to local authorities, partly due to rising water levels in the Chao Phraya River.
Nine migrant workers from neighboring Myanmar and a Russian couple were killed Sunday in mudslides on the southern island of Phuket. The same day, rescuers in northern Nakhon Ratchasima province tried to pull three workers from the rubble of a collapsed tunnel on a Thai-China railway project. It was not clear how successful they were.
The discharge rate at Sirikit Dam in Uttaradit province, one of the most important dams in the north, has been reduced to 3 million cubic meters per day as a precaution to limit the impact on downstream areas, a government spokesman said. Newly appointed Prime Minister Pitongtarn Shinawatra visited affected areas late last week to distribute food supplies.
