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Sunday, November 24, 2024  
21 Jumada Al-Awwal 1446  

Death toll from Thai, Myanmar floods hits 226

Death toll from Thai, Myanmar floods hits 226The death toll from flooding in Thailand and neighbouring Myanmar has hit 226, as a Thai survey has found that a quarter of those who died by drowning were drunk at the time, officials said on Sunday.
The floods began in late August, and at their peak in early October had inundated 47 of Thailand's 76 provinces, as well as broad swathes of central and eastern Myanmar.
In Thailand, 207 people have been killed, the interior ministry said in a statement. Nineteen others have been killed in Myanmar.
The Thai ministry said 15 central provinces were still battling high waters.
Thailand's public health ministry also said in a survey that 90 percent of flood victims had drowned, and some 27 percent of those drowning victims were drunk at the time.
Thais are among the world's heaviest drinkers. A health ministry study two years ago found Thailand ranked only behind Portugal, Ireland, the Bahamas and the Czech Republic in terms of alcohol consumption.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006