The World : South Asia Floods Kill 161

Torrential rains triggered mudslides and floods that swept away entire villages in Thailand and Malaysia, killing at least 161 people and leaving hundreds of others missing, officials said. “This is the worst flooding in 50 years,” said Chit Nilpanich, governor of Thailand’s Songkhla province, 480 miles south of Bangkok. Thai officials said that 136 people died in seven southern provinces. Authorities in neighboring Malaysia said 25 people have been killed and more than 47,000 forced to flee to evacuation centers. The death toll in the region was expected to climb as rescue teams reach isolated villages, some of them submerged in floodwaters and mud.