Watch FIFA World Cup 2026™

LIVE, FREE and EXCLUSIVE starting June 12 2026

Thai floods strand 200 Aussies

More than 200 Australian travellers have been stranded in southern Thailand as mudslides and floodwaters claimed more than a dozen lives in eight provinces.

thailand_floods_b_110331_aap_699933509

More than 200 Australian travellers have been stranded in southern Thailand as mudslides and floodwaters claimed more than a dozen lives in eight provinces.

Australian Department of Foreign Affairs officials said the Australians were among tourists isolated on the resort island of Koh Samui, where flooding had closed the airport and heavy seas halted ferry transport to the mainland.

Travel agents in Bangkok faced a huge backlog of travellers caught up on the islands after missing connecting international flights in recent days.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Flights from Koh Samui and ferry transport have now resumed after some easing in the unseasonal heavy rains.

Thai media reported a massive mudslide on the mainland province of Krabi left up to 15 local people dead while the Royal Thai Navy led the rescue of tourists from the flood-ravaged island of Koh Tao in nearby Surat Thani province.

Thai meteorological services warned of further landslides and possible flooding in 11 of the Thai southern provinces, including popular tourist destinations of Phuket, Krabi, Phang-nga and Nakhon Si Thammarat.

Australian officials said they received only "a small number of calls" at the embassy in Bangkok from Australians affected by disruptions to transport.

There were no reports of Australians casualties from the flooding.

Bangorn Sudmuong, general manager of the Tubkaak Resort in Krabi, said the situation had been very difficult in key affected areas.

"On Koh Samui the flooding was everywhere," Ms Bangorn told AAP.

She said flights from Koh Samui and ferry services to the mainland had resumed.

Thailand has been facing unseasonably cold weather with temperatures in the northern provinces at half their normal reading at less than 20C, with livestock dying from the low temperatures.

This time of year is usually one of the hottest, with Thailand approaching the peak of the dry season when temperatures normally hit the low 40s Celsius.


2 min read

Published

Updated

Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world