Thai Interior Ministry: Flood Death Toll Since September 16 Rises to 31 as Provinces Remain Submerged
BANGKOK — Thailand's Interior Ministry said on October 5 that flooding since September 16 has killed 31 people. The toll rose from 23 (as of September 29) to 31 in under a week, showing the rainy-season disaster is still accumulating casualties. The floods have affected millions of residents across many provinces, inundating farmland, roads and neighbourhoods.
The disaster is the product of compounding factors: sustained monsoon downpours, surging river levels and the drainage limits of cities such as Bangkok. In late September, Bangkok recorded close to 300–320 millimetres of rain in three days and was declared a disaster zone; a fresh burst of rain on October 4–6 flooded multiple districts again. The official response — rescue, sheltering, relief distribution and recovery — involves the military and local administrations.
Economic losses are mounting in parallel. Toyota Thailand has halted its three plants from October 5 to 10 after suppliers were flooded and parts deliveries cut; the Federation of Thai Industries is continuing to assess damage across the industrial belt. The national disaster insurance scheme that took effect on October 1, covering some 30 million households, will be the first external source of rebuilding funds for many affected families.
Forecasters expect the rainy season to continue, with further heavy rain possible in the central region. For the ethnic Chinese community in Thailand, the floods touch everyday routes everywhere: the low-lying old city and Chinatown in Bangkok, and Chinese-owned factories in the industrial zones of Samut Prakan and Pathum Thani, are all watching water levels and official bulletins. The Interior Ministry will continue updating the national toll.
Source: Compiled from Reuters (October 5, 2026), citing Thailand's Interior Ministry, and Reuters' flood series.
Source: 路透社
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 泰国洪灾中的水上救援（资料图），Donavanik 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
