Rescuers seek survivors from Thailand flood

Mudslides, torn up roads and fallen trees hampered rescuers today after northern Thailand's worst floods in 60 years killed at…

Mudslides, torn up roads and fallen trees hampered rescuers today after northern Thailand's worst floods in 60 years killed at least 30 people and left nearly 100 missing, officials said.

Uttaradit, 500 km (310 miles) north of Bangkok, was the worst-hit province with 22 known dead and 75 missing, although officials there said the toll could be a lot higher.

"From what we've seen at the affected sites, we believe the toll will rise to a hundred as many might have still been buried under the mud," Uttaradit's deputy provincial health chief Eadyoungone Yongyuan said.

However, a senior Interior Ministry official said such speculation was yet to be confirmed.

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Unusually heavy rain at the start of the monsoon, which lashed deforested hills and sent flash floods into villages and towns in five provinces, stopped in Uttaradit today.

Water levels had receded, officials said, but showers were expected to continue until Friday.

Most of the deaths were believed to have occurred in the Laplae district of Uttaradit, where heavy rain caused mudslides and a power blackout. About 12,000 people were short of food and water, officials said.