BANGKOK, April 4th, 2011 – Floods continue in Southern Thailand.
As the rains keep coming in southern Thailand, new reports say 51 people have been drowned or killed by mudslides so far and another 30,000 are sick due to respiratory problems or foot fungus because of having to paddle through water continuously.
The Thai military has also been flying tourists off southern Thai islands, as the flooding and rains were so bad commercial airlines haven’t been able to fly in and ferries haven’t been able to leave due to high water. More than 15,000 tourists were stuck on islands like Koh Samet and Koh Phangan at one time.
Rain has been pouring down in 10 of Thailand’s 77 provinces for almost two weeks, at a time which should be one of the hottest months of the year. Temperatures are 10-20 degrees fahrenheit lower than normal, and forecasters expect up to another week of rain and lower temperatures before the situation begins to improve.
Ferries have recently begun operating again in most southern areas but the Thai government is asking people to be attune to the weather conditions and, if rains increase again, not to take ferries or small boats due to the risk of capsizing.