Flash Floods Kill 46, Leave 100 Missing in Northern Thailand

Flash floods triggered by heavy rains swept down mountains in northern Thailand and washed through villages, killing at least 46 people Saturday and leaving up to 100 missing.

The flooding struck before dawn in Phetchabun province, toppling homes and in some cases flinging logs from the deforested hills into the villages. Three-quarters of the dead were women and children, some as young as 2.

“The figure isn’t surprising since the flood came while they were sleeping and was too strong for women and children,” said an official at Phetchabun’s provincial emergency center.

The death toll in Lom Sak district by Saturday night had reached 46, said Charothorn Pakotr, director of the civil defense division of the Interior Ministry.

Police said about 100 people were believed missing, though other estimates were lower. With more than 1,000 residents displaced from their homes, Pakotr said the total could not be confirmed.

A local hospital said 40 people swept away by the torrent were admitted for treatment with water in their lungs and injuries to their chests and limbs.

At least 200 officials, police, soldiers and volunteers were involved in aid and rescue operations. Heavy rain continued intermittently throughout the day Saturday.

Interior Minister Purachai Piumsombun was scheduled to visit the province 185 miles north of Bangkok late Saturday and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was to visit today, news reports said.

Flash floods during the rainy season, which lasts from June to October, are a perennial problem in Thailand. The problem has been exacerbated in recent years by massive deforestation that has eroded the topsoil and vegetation that stem flooding.

Flooding also affected several major cities in the north and especially the northeast, where the Mekong River was overflowing its banks. Problems were especially bad in Udon Thani, about 300 miles northeast of Bangkok, the capital, where flights to the provincial airport had to be canceled.