Flooding caused by severe weather has killed 29 people in the south Thailandwhile they are expected heavy rains until Thursday, as announced by the country’s natural disaster management agency (DDPM).

The floods, which began in late November, are currently affecting more than 155,000 households in Songla, Pattani, Narathiwat, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Patalung provinces, authorities said.

The report does not specify the number of people affected, nor the extent of the damage.

A previous account published yesterday spoke of 25 deaths. The rising waters caused the displacement about 33,000 peoplethe representative of the Ministry of Public Health added today.

The authorities repeated the appeal them for Attention in those southern areas, where heavy rain is expected through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

Floods also hit the neighboring village Malaysiawhere authorities reported the death of a total of five people yesterday. More than 94,000 people expect to return home which they abandoned when the water level rose, according to an official report.

Monsoons hit these Southeast Asian countries every year. However, scientists argue that global warming is increasing their intensity and may make catastrophic floods more frequent.

THE Typhoon Yagi caused widespread flooding in the north of the kingdom in September, as well as in Vietnam, Myanmar and Laos, killing hundreds of people.

The 2011severe flooding affected millions of households in Thailand, causing damage which are counted in more than 46 billion dollarsaccording to the World Bank.