The Public Health Ministry confirmed yesterday (Dec 1) that the death toll from flooding in eight southern provinces had reached 170, with the highest number recorded in Songkhla with 140 deaths, reports the Bangkok Post.
Deputy permanent secretary Dr Sakda Alapach said the figure was expected to “increase only slightly” as residents returned to their homes. All bodies recovered in the district were being processed at Songklanagarind Hospital.
But volunteer rescue teams working on the ground insist the real number could be far higher. Anyawuth Phoamphai, a senior Ruamkatanyu Foundation volunteer, said on Facebook that officials had obstructed efforts to retrieve bodies from inundated zones.
“They don’t want to tell the truth,” he wrote, suggesting authorities feared heightened criticism of the government’s disaster response. His comments were widely shared, fuelling further suspicion and anger among flood-affected communities.
Former deputy police chief Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, a Songkhla native, claimed yesterday that the death toll might reach 1,000.
“I was told that fatalities in Songkhla were 500–1,000 deaths,” he said, citing accounts from local residents and rescue personnel involved in body recovery operations.
He believed the actual death toll was higher than the Public Health Ministry figures.
Pol Gen Surachate accused the government of concealing the real number of victims amid heavy criticism of its flood response.
He expressed concern over how hospital-declared deaths would be classified, noting that some people may have died indirectly because floodwater prevented them from seeking medical care. In such cases, he warned, the authorities might not count them as flood victims.
Dr Sakda rejected claims of a cover-up, saying multiple agencies were jointly operating in the disaster area. “No one can hide the facts,” he said, noting that the hospital had already prepared additional cold-storage facilities should more victims be found.
Senate Deputy Speaker Gen Kriangkrai Srirak urged the media to scrutinise all claims and verify information amid a surge of unsubstantiated reports online.
He warned against sharing inflated death tolls without evidence, saying misinformation risked deepening public distress and undermining trust in official emergency warnings.
“If it’s not true, those who spread such claims should be held accountable,” he said, adding that confusion may also arise from miscommunication.