Thailand\'s flood toll reaches 602

A total of 602 people were confirmed dead and two were missing during the more than three- month flooding in Thailand, the worst case in over 50 years, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department reported Sunday. Flooding situation still prevails in 18 provinces, including capital Bangkok city while 46 other provinces are on the way of restoring, said the report. Some 5.3 million residents or nearly two million households are still suffering, according to the report. The provinces still facing the deluge include Nakhon Sawan, Chainat, Angthong, Ayutthaya, Lopburi, Saraburi, Suphanburi, Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Samut Sakhon, Samut Prakan, Chechoengsao, Nakhon Nayok in central region and Ubon Ratchathani and Roi Et, Kalasin in northeastern region. In Bangkok, 36 out of 50 districts have been affected by floods. The inundation caused by heavy monsoon rains and back-to-back tropical storms has lashed 64 out of 77 provinces across the country since late July, affecting more than 13 million, or one in every five Thais. Tens of thousands of manufactures were swamped, putting over a million of employees at the risk of losing their jobs and causing about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars worth of loss, let alone the economic damage which was expected between 23 to 28 billion U.S. dollars.