Thai Rescue and relief officials are working against the clock to help hundreds of thousands of people in five northern provinces still trapped by rising floodwaters and landslides, which have so far claimed at least 27 lives and another 61 still missing.

Torrential rain over the past five days have resulted in flash floods, heavy inundation and landslide in several areas of the northern Uttaradit, Phrae, Lampang, Nan and Sukhothai provinces, with Uttaradit and Sukhothai being mostly affected, according to the Ministry of Interior's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

A total of 27 people have reportedly died -- 19 in Uttaradit, 7in Sukhothai and one in Phrae, while 61 have been missing -- 59 in Uttaradit and 2 in Phrae, according to the official figures.

But authorities in the most-hit province of Uttaradit, about 500 kilometers north of Bangkok, said the death toll looks likely to top 100 over the coming days in the province. Hundreds more were injured, and several thousand have been left homeless, following several days of torrential rain.

Meanwhile, the floods in the five provinces have also affected nearly 76,000 people in more than 20,000 households, with more than 52 square kilometers of farmland and local infrastructure damaged.

The situations in Phrae, Lampang and Nan have eased, but several areas in Uttaradit and Sukhothai are still inundated, with the water levels of around 0.30-2.50 meters.

Across many flood-stricken areas, local people are scrambling to live without electricity and cell-phone connections. Authorities cut electricity in some districts out of fear people might be electrocuted in the floodwaters.

In Uttaradit, public-health chief Boonriang Chuchai-saengrat called for rescue workers experienced in handling a large number of bodies, as in the 2004 tsunami disaster, to help keep a record of the bodies.

"About 30 bodies have already been retrieved but we expect to retrieve some 70 more during the next three days," he said.

Bodies were scattered around the province, but continued downpours hampered efforts to reach some hardest-hit areas, he said.

Thailand's caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who have fully returned to serve the nation and the public since earlier this week, headed to the north on Wednesday to visit the flood-stricken areas. He arrived in Uttaradit Wednesday morning to visit flood victims and inspected flood-ravaged areas.

He would continue to visit victims in Sukhothai's flood-hit areas in the afternoon.

The caretaker prime minister have ordered urgent assistance and relief operations to the flood victims and all those who have been affected.

Meanwhile, the Department of Mineral Resources issued a warning Wednesday morning for people in mountainous areas in northern provinces, including Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Lamphun, Phayao, Phrae, Nan and Tak, to beware of possible landslides and flash floods over the next couple of days.

The Meteorological Department also warned that there could still be torrential rain with flash floods in areas at risk of many provinces in the North and Northeast, and that there could also be torrential rain with possible flash floods in the country's eastern Chantaburi and Trat and the southern province of Ranong over the next few days with strong wind and high waves of 2-3 meters in the sea.

People and trawlers in the areas should, therefore, closely monitor official weather reports, the department urged.

Editor: Yan