Renewed flooding battered many areas in the southern provinces of Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat on Saturday and has claimed two lives so far.
In Surat Thani, heavy downpours that have persisted since Thursday caused water levels in canals and other water sources to overflow on Saturday, sending a huge volume of water into agricultural areas, roads and houses in three districts: Muang, Kanchanadit and Don Sak.
The flooding has affected 315 households living in 42 villages in the three districts.
At Huai Dan Village Moo 6 in Kanchanadit, runoff poured through the area, with floodwater rising about one metre on Saturday. Rescue workers helped move belongings from five affected houses to higher areas.
Theeyut Supawiboonphol, deputy governor of Surat Thani, ordered district authorities to provide assistance to residents hit by floods and landslides and to survey damage in their areas.
Floodwaters were expected to rise further in Kanchanadit and Don Sak as runoff would flow into those districts, he said.
Soldiers pull a pickup truck loaded with oil palm nuts from a flooded road in Sichon district of Nakhon Si Thammarat on Saturday afternoon. The driver was safely rescued. (Photo: Nujraree Raekroon)
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, floodwaters rose to 30-50 centimetres on the west side of the municipality area in Muang district on Saturday.
In Tha Sala district, roads were heavily flooded, rendering them impassable for vehicles in tambon Tha Sala. Local residents had to rely on boats to enter their communities.
In Sichon district, a man was rescued after his pickup truck loaded with oil palm nuts got stuck in a flooded road in tambon Sichon.
A rescue team came to the rescue of driver Trairong Laosakulsuk.
Mr Trairong said he was driving his vehicle along the road when forest runoff suddenly raced through the area and the water rose rapidly. He could not drive his vehicle away in time.
He immediately got out of his pickup to stand on the top of the oil palm nuts in the bed of his vehicle. Rescuers saw him and they used a jet ski to rescue him.
Soldiers helped pull his pickup truck from the flooded road, said Mr Trairong.
The flooding claimed two lives in Thung Song district of Nakhon Si Thammarat on Friday.
Niphon Boonsong, 76, slipped and his head struck a water drainage pipe in tambon Nong Hong while he was catching fish. On the same day, Boonchu Mankhong, 69, slipped into a ditch at his flooded rubber plantation.
In Chumphon, residents were caught off guard by flash floods, with many dismayed to see their furniture set afloat.
The Meteorological Department earlier issued a warning about heavy rains affecting the southern provinces of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Chumphon, Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat from Saturday to Monday.