15 Die, Thousands Stranded in Monsoon

Floods triggered by torrential monsoon downpours have killed at least 15 people this week in northern Malaysia and nearby parts of Thailand, officials said Thursday. Thousands of others have been stranded.

At least 10 people have been killed in Malaysia since Monday, police and local officials said.

Among those drowned by the swirling flood waters that swept away many village huts in Malaysia were a 3-year-old boy in Kelantan state and two other children in Terengganu state, police said.

A mother and her 8-year-old son died in Terengganu on Thursday, the national Bernama news agency said, giving no further details.

Officials in Thailand said at least five people, including three children, died in this week’s floods, either by electrocution or drowning.

More than 6,000 people in Kelantan and Terengganu states have been forced to evacuate their homes, and a major highway linking the two states was closed due to rising waters.

At least 4,000 vacationers were trapped in the Thai border town of Haadyai, and an additional 900 travelers were temporarily stuck in Kelantan state because trains couldn’t move on submerged tracks.

Scores of buses bringing Malaysian tourists to the resort area were turned back at the border because of the floods, the Star newspaper said.

Flights were canceled, highways were closed and Malaysian Environment Minister Law Heing Deng said he expects more flooding and landslides during an unusually heavy monsoon season. The winter monsoons usually occur from November through March.