A local leader was killed by a falling tree as storms caused damage in at least five provinces over the weekend.
Unseasonal storms lashed Ratchaburi, Si Sa Ket, Khon Kaen, Nakhon Phanom and Yasothon on Sunday night, damaging houses in their path.
Strong winds knocked down an old tamarind tree during a fair in Maha Chana Chai district in Yasothon. The big tree hit Thanapat Jaitrong, the deputy district chief, who was standing underneath.
Pol Maj Chayaphan Prasobsee, the interrogation chief at Maha Chana Chai police station, said the official died before he reached Maha Chana Chai Hospital. The tree also hurt Amporn Naewratsadorn, an assistant to the village chief of Ban Moo 4, he added.
The storm also damaged some houses of Moo 1 in Damnoen Saduak district in Ratchaburi on Sunday night.
Pallop Kositapa, the Tambon Don Kruai Organisation Administration chief, said a girl was slightly injured after strong winds damaged her home in Damnoen Saduak. The name of the girl was not revealed.
In a related development, levels of minuscule particulate matter known as PM2.5 rose again in the northern provinces, according to the Pollution Control Department.
During the first quarter of the year, farmers usually use slash-and-burn techniques to clear away farmland waste.
Smoke from the burning is a major source of air pollution.
PM 2.5 dust particles are invisible to the naked eye, with a diameter a twentieth of the width of a human hair.
They have been found to cause lung damage and enter blood vessels, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular disease among other disorders.
Elsewhere, a fire was reported at a rubbish disposal landfill in Kabin Buri district in Prachin Buri, an eastern province.
The fire broke out about 1am Monday and is believed to have been caused by local farmers attempting to clear forest areas.
Their fires, however, spread into the 150-rai plot where the landfill was situated.