Summer storms hit the South and the Northeast, leaving one person dead and sinking dozens of fishing boats.
A mini-tornado formed for a few minutes at the height of the storm, with gusty winds causing high waves along the coastlines of Pak Phanang, Muang and Tha Sala districts of Nakhon Si Thammarat about 8am on Sunday.
Dozens of trawlers were reported to have capsized during the storm in Pak Phanang bay on the eastern side of tambon Pak Phanang and tambon Tha Sala and nearby Sichon district.
The Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, marine police and other agencies were sent to help search for missing crewmen whose safety might have been at risk.
Suttipong Juljarern, permanent secretary for interior, gave an update on the state of the search:
In Pak Phanang district, fishing boats departed from the coast with 51 crew aboard, 42 of whom had been found and brought ashore. One man was dead, while two others are in critical condition in hospital.
In Tha Sala district, officials managed to find and assist four out of five trawlers although the total number of missing sailors is unknown.
In Sichon district, only one trawler departed on Sunday, with three of its four crew now safely ashore.
Nakhon Si Thammarat provincial governor Apinan Phuakphong set up a war room, supervised by his deputy, to coordinate various agencies and local people to help search for missing fishermen. They are getting air support from Wing 7 Surat Thani Royal Thai Air Force Base, Songkhla Naval Base and the 4th Army Area's Wachirawut military base.
The Provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office in Surat Thani also reported the Raja ferry 10 developed a lean and was partly submerged while in port. Fortunately, all passengers had disembarked safely.
In the Northeast, storms devastated more than 100 households in tambon Phra Kaew of Sangkha district in Surin, 328 households in Kalasin and three households and a temple in Soeng Sang district of Nakhon Ratchasima.