200 Australians affected by Thai flooding

SYDNEY, March 31 (AAP)- More than 200 Australian travellers have been stranded in southern Thailand as mudslides and floodwaters claimed more than a dozen lives in eight provinces.
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs officials said the Australians were among tourists isolated on the resort island of Koh Samui, where flooding had closed the airport and heavy seas halted ferry transport to the mainland.
Travel agents in Bangkok faced a huge backlog of travellers caught up on the islands after missing connecting international flights in recent days.
Flights from Koh Samui and ferry transport have now resumed after some easing in the unseasonal heavy rains.
Thai media reported a massive mudslide on Wednesday on the mainland province of Krabi left up to 15 local people dead while the Royal Thai Navy led the rescue of tourists from the flood-ravaged island of Koh Tao in nearby Surat Thani province.
Thai meteorological services warned of further landslides and possible flooding in 11 of the Thai southern provinces, including popular tourist destinations of Phuket, Krabi, Phang-nga and Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Australian officials said they received only "a small number of calls" at the embassy in Bangkok from Australians affected by disruptions to transport. There were no reports of Australians casualties from the flooding.
Bangorn Sudmuong, general manager of the Tubkaak Resort in Krabi, said the situation had been very difficult in key affected areas.
"On Koh Samui the flooding was everywhere," Ms Bangorn told AAP.
She said flights from Koh Samui and ferry services to the mainland had resumed.
Thailand has been facing unseasonably cold weather with temperatures in the northern provinces at half their normal reading at less than 20C, with livestock dying from the low temperatures.
This time of year is usually one of the hottest, with Thailand approaching the peak of the dry season when temperatures normally hit the low 40s Celsius.