40 dead in Thai flash floods

At least 40 people were killed when heavy rains triggered a mountainside flash flood early this morning in a northern Thai province, officials said.

Police in Phetchabun province, 186 miles north of Bangkok, said that as many as 100 people were believed missing after water swept down a mountainside through villages in Lomsak district.

The tragedy happened as heavy rains caused flooding in many parts of the country’s north and northeast, disrupting road traffic and in at least one case causing an airport to suspend operations.

An official at Phetchabun’s provincial emergency centre said the death toll in Lomsak district had reached 40, three quarters of whom were women and children as young as two.

"The figure isn’t surprising since the flood came while they were sleeping and was too strong for women and children," said the official, who declined to give his name. Officials said the flood happened at 4am (10pm last night - Irish time), damaging many houses and sweeping away others.

Some of the damage was apparently caused by logs which floated down with the Saturday.

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, eroding the top soil and vegetation which would stem flooding.