People wade through floodwaters outside Pattani Central Mosque after days of heavy rain in Thailand's southern province of Pattani on December 2, 2024. – AFP

Over 30,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes due to severe flooding in southern Thailand, where the death toll has risen to 29, officials reported on Wednesday. More heavy rain is forecast for the region, which has already been inundated with torrential floodwaters, affecting over 155,000 households, according to the Thai government's public relations department. Five southern provinces—Pattani, Narathiwat, Songkhla, Nakhon Si Thammarat, and Phatthalung—have been impacted, forcing more than 33,000 people to leave their homes, the spokesperson for Thailand's Ministry of Public Health stated. The death toll now stands at 29, up from 25 reported on Tuesday. Mental health teams have been deployed to support those affected.

A woman from Tak Bai district in Narathiwat province told state broadcaster Thai PBS that she had not returned home for three days, opting to stay in a temporary shelter at a local temple after her house was flooded. The Thai Meteorological Department warned that low pressure moving from the South China Sea across Malaysia and the Andaman Sea is expected to bring heavy rainfall and further flooding to southern Thailand. The Department of Mineral Resources also cautioned about potential landslides and flash floods until December 5. Disaster response teams are working to drain floodwater and evacuate victims to safer areas, according to the country's disaster agency.

The government has deployed rescue teams to assist affected residents and allocated 50 million baht ($1.5 million) in flood relief for each province. On Tuesday, the Thai cabinet approved a 9,000 baht ($260) payment per family to support those affected. The floods have also impacted neighboring Malaysia, where tens of thousands of people have been displaced. While Thailand experiences annual monsoon rains, scientists warn that climate change is intensifying weather patterns, making destructive floods more likely. Widespread flooding across the country in 2011 resulted in over 500 deaths and damaged millions of homes.

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