Thailand Flood Death Toll: How Many People Have Died In The Heavy Rain? How Long Will The Rain Continue?

Heavy flooding devastated areas of Thailand on Tuesday, resulting in 14 deaths, according to reports. The flood, brought on by heavy rains to due to a low-pressure system hovering over the island, brutally impacted several tourists areas including Phuket, Phatthalung, Pattani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Krabi, Chumphon, Satun, Songkhla, Trang, Surat Thani and Yala provinces.

Fourth Army chief Piyawat Nakwanich said in a statement that roughly 90,440 people and 1,071 villages have been affected by the flooding. Nakwanich warned that the death toll could rise due to many people being stuck in isolated areas of the country, Bangkok Post reported.

December in Thailand usually marks the beginning of the dry season. However, the recent heavy rain, which started on Thursday, has drenched areas like Nakhon Si Thammarat with more than 17 inches of rainfall, Reuters reported. Nakhon Si Thammarat normally receives about 14 inches of rainfall in December.

Flooding has resulted in power outages and damages to the country’s railway system. In some areas, railway tracks have been completely covered by floodwater. The State Railway of Thailand announced Monday that train service running from Bangkok to Hat Yai in Songklha had been canceled along with express and local train service from Bangkok to Trang, Sungai Kolok in Narathiwat, Yala and Thung Song.

Rainfall was starting to ease up on Sunday, but overnight downpours forced the country’s Meterological Department to issue a severe weather warning on Monday. Areas like Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, both of which are heavily visited by tourist during this time of year, were put on the disaster area list due to non-stop heavy rain, the department said.

Waters are reportedly receding in various areas. However, the Meterological Department forecasted heavy rain to continue throughout the country for the remainder of the week.

The last time a flood left a devastating impact on Thailand was in 2011, which resulted in the deaths of more than 900 people.