PATTANI (Thailand), Jan 11 (NNN-Bernama) — Severe floods following heavy rain in four provinces in southern Thailand — Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Songkhla — have claimed three lives to date and affected almost 60,000 families.
In a statement Sunday, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department said continuous heavy rain since Jan 4 have affected 58,497 families in 32 districts.
“To date, three fatalities were reported while another person is still missing,” it said.
Narathiwat is the worst-hit province, with 448 villages and 25,211 families affected, followed by Yala (15,229 families), Pattani (10,508) and Songkhla (7,549).
In Pattani, several low-lying areas were flooded following the high-tide phenomenon and water released from the Bang Lang Dam in Yala.
A check by Bernama found several areas in Pattani were inundated and the authorities are intensifying efforts to pump out the stagnated floodwater.
Previously, local authorities have announced the release of water from the Bang Lang Dam in order to retain a safe water level.
— NNN-BERNAMA