BANGKOK, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Thai-Myanmar border area was flooded by river overflows on Friday caused by torrential rains overnight.
The Mae Sai river that forms a natural border between Thailand and Myanmar, swollen by days of heavy rain, bursted its bank. Popular border markets in northern Thailand's Chiang Rai have been swamped in floodwater that is 30-50 centimeters deep, with vendors rushing to move their goods to higher places.
Soldiers and officials from Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DPMD) have been assisting rescue workers to evacuate residents in the flooded area.
Tropical storm Sonca has unleashed unusually heavy rains across Thailand's north, northeast and east since late July, triggering water rise on rivers and flooding.
The flooding, ravaging 44 provinces in Thailand, has claimed 34 lives from July 5 to Aug. 17, according to DPMD.
Though the flooding in 37 provinces has been eased, 43,980 households with 136,616 people are still affected by flooding, Chatchai Promlert, an official from the DPMD, said on Thursday.
The Meteorological Department warned of flash flood, mudslide and overflowing of rivers in the northern, central, eastern and southern regions in a week, with downpours in most areas of the country.
