Thai flood death toll rises as body search goes on

BANGKOK, May 25 (Reuters) The death toll in northern Thailand's worst floods in 60 years today rose to 43 with more than 50 people still missing as rescuers slogged through water, mud and debris in search of bodies.

They were expected to find more bodies as the water receded now that the first wave of monsoon rains, which came earlier and heavier than usual this year, had eased.

''We fear we will find more dead under the mud when the water levels fall,'' said Suksunt Vanaputi, the vice governor of Uttaradit province where most of the deaths occurred.

The situation was improving in the urban centres as electricity was restored, but the military was still having difficulty getting heavy machinery into the hills to repair roads and search for bodies, Suksunt told Reuters.

But it could get worse again, with the likelihood of more rain in most parts of the country raising the risk of new flash floods and mudslides, the Meteorological Department said in its daily forecast.

This week's flash floods tore up roads, wrecked houses and littered large areas with trees, making access to more remote communities difficult.

Bangkok newspapers said an earthern dam had been destroyed in the northwestern province of Tak and a reservoir cracked in the northern province of Phrae, where officials were planning to evacuate villages around it.

Uttaradit, 500 km north of Bangkok, was the worst hit province with 37 known dead, most of them believed to have occurred in the Laplae district.

Tens of thousands of people were affected and the military was deployed to distribute food and water using trucks andhelicopters.

In some hilly areas, however, the only way to get food and water into villages where stores had been destroyed was to carry it in on foot, officials said.

''Drinking water is most needed now as tap water facilities have been damaged by the floods,'' Jarin Udomlert, a Laplae rescue official, told Channel 3 television.

Survivors have complained of a lack of early warnings of flash floods or mudslides from the government, but provincial officials said warnings had been issued, but ignored.

The floods left several trains marooned in the north and disrupted rail traffic between Bangkok and the region.

Trains began to head north from the capital again today, but could get only as far as Uttaradit, state railway officials said.

The monsoon season in tropical Thailand usually lasts until October.

Reuters DKS GC0910