Thai flood death toll hits 48, body search goes on

BANGKOK - The death toll in northern Thailand's worst floods in 60 years, caused by a rare climatic factor, rose to 48 last night with dozens still missing as rescuers slogged through mud and debris for bodies.

Scientists and relief officials attributed the disaster to a rare collision of low-pressure areas from the Pacific and Indian Oceans causing unusually heavy rain to fall on deforested hills, particularly in Uttaradit province bordering Laos.

The hills, stripped by illegal loggers of the tree cover which could have held them together or turned into orchards, could not absorb the water and sections slid away as mudslides.

The slides and flash floods destroyed houses, cut roads and damaged dams as well as inundating towns and forcing thousands to flee their homes. Large areas were littered with trees, making access to more remote communities difficult.

Rescuers, joined by 1,000 troops, dogs and helicopters, expected to find more bodies as the waters receded now that the downpours have eased. This year's monsoon rains have come earlier and more heavily than usual.

"We fear we will find more dead under the mud when the water levels fall," said Suksunt Vanaputi, vice governor of Uttaradit where most of the deaths occurred.

The situation was improving in urban centres as power was restored, but the military was still having difficulty getting heavy machinery into the hills to repair roads and search for bodies, Suksunt told Reuters.

But it could get worse again, with the likelihood of more rain in most parts of Thailand raising the risk of new flash floods and mudslides, the Meteorological Department said in its daily forecast.

Uttaradit, some 500km north of Bangkok, was the worst-hit province with 41 known dead after a deluge which dumped 330mm in one 24-hour period.

The unusually heavy rain fell on hills covered by orchards rather than the natural jungle which could have prevented floods and landslides by holding the soil together, experts said.

"We need all kinds of trees to decelerate water from the hills, not just the mono crops that we have now," said Royol Chitrdon, head of the government's Hydro & Agro Informatics Institute.

"A lesson to learn from this disaster is we need to improve the quality of our forests and how to improve water catchment on those farm lands," he told Reuters.

Tens of thousands of people were affected and the military had to distribute food and water using trucks and helicopters.

In some hilly areas, however, the only way to get food and water into villages where stores had been destroyed was to carry it in on foot or by airlift, officials said.

Military helicopters and special forces soldiers were deployed to search for more survivors and distribute supplies.

"We need all kinds of humanitarian supplies from food, water, cooking utensils to underclothes and sanitary pads," Uttaradit disaster relief chief Nitipat Pimpiriyakul told Reuters.

- REUTERS