Floods caused by heavy rains in Thailand have killed 22 people, authorities said Monday, warning of possible further sudden rises in water levels this week.
More than 30,000 homes have been affected in 13 northern and southern provinces in the past 10 days, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said in a statement.
Ten of the victims, including a Russian tourist couple, were killed in a landslide in a residential area on the southern island of Phuket last week.
Nineteen other people were injured. A total of 31 provinces in the north and northeast of the country are at risk of flooding as of Thursday, the statement said.
Three workers – two Chinese nationals and a Burmese woman – are also missing after a landslide buried a railway tunnel of a high-speed line under construction in the eastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima.
Thailand’s rainy season, from July to September, typically brings heavy rainfall for months.
Scientists say that human-caused climate change is likely to exacerbate this phenomenon and increase the likelihood of destructive flooding.
In 2011, floods left hundreds dead and damaged millions of homes across the country.