Around 1,800 houses in ten provinces were damaged after summer storms wreaked havoc across the Northeast and South over the weekend, as authorities continued the search for crew members of stricken trawlers off the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
According to authorities, the storms battered 235 villages in Amnat Charoen, Surin, Chaiyaphum, Sakon Nakhon, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Roi Et, Kalasin, Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat, damaging a total of 1,781 houses across the country.
Meanwhile, the search for the missing crewmembers of fishing boats that were out at sea when the storms hit continued yesterday, with two navy patrol boats and a helicopter from Wing 7 in Surat Thani joining in the mission off the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Officials said out of the 48 boats which went out to sea from Pak Phanang district over the weekend, ten capsized because of the storm.
Three people were pulled out of the sea in waters off Pak Phanang district by the helicopter. However, one person was found dead off Si Chon district, bringing the death toll from the storms to three as of yesterday.
Meanwhile, in Tha Sala district, rescue workers managed to save all crew members of three fishing boats which capsized due to the storm.
Out of the 16 crew members of eight boats which departed Muang district over the weekend, one died due to the storm.
In Sichon district, one trawler went out with four crew. Three of them were rescued, but a missing crewmember was feared dead.
In Surat Thani, ferry services between the mainland and Koh Samui and Koh Phangan remain unaffected, though one ferry docked at a pier took in water, prompting the closure of two piers.
Marine officials instructed Racha Ferry Co to close F1 and F2 piers until repairs were completed to the partially submerged ferry to prevent oil from spilling out.
The ferry is expected to be removed from the pier in the next two days.