The World : Asia Flood Toll Tops 300

Search teams dug through a wasteland of mud, logs and shattered houses in a bid to reach victims of flooding and landslides that have killed at least 329 people and left hundreds of others missing in southern Thailand and Malaysia. “This is the worst disaster in the history of” southern Thailand, Deputy Interior Minister Trairong Suwannakhiri said. Officials in Thailand and Malaysia said the death toll from six days of flooding and landslides rose to at least 329--31 of those in Malaysia, which was also hit hard. Another 688 people were injured and more than 800 were reported missing. Trairong said he expects the death toll to reach 1,000.