Flooding Hits Thailand after 2 Feet of Rain

January 03, 2012; 9:56 AM
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Runoff following torrential rain forms waterfalls along the foot of a mountain in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, Thailand, Jan. 3, 2012. (AP Photo/Surneth Panpetch)

Southern Thailand has been hit with damaging floods following extreme rainfall topping 20 inches within two days.

Tens of thousands of homes have been inundated in the four southernmost provinces, Yala, Pattani, Songkhla and Narathiwat, the Australian ABC News website said on Tuesday. Alerts warned of mudslides.

Meteorological data available to AccuWeather.com showed rainfall of 25.6 inches within 72 hours at Nakhon Si Thammarat. Normal monthly rainfall here would be about 7 inches, November and December being at the heart of the local rainy season.

This latest flooding follows a year in which Thailand's worst flooding in 50 years was felt in 65 out of 77 provinces. King Bhumibol Adulyadej called the flood damage the "worst ever," ABC News said.

At least 800 people were killed, mostly during months-long floods that struck the nation's industrial and agricultural heartland, as well as its political hub of Bangkok, during the late summer and fall.

Last March brought devastating flooding and mudslides in some of the same southern provinces those of this week. This area is located about 400 miles south of the Thailand capital.

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