Over 700 dead in Southeast Asia floods—UN

A Thai man places sand bags on the ground to hold back floodwaters in Pathum Thani province, suburban Bangkok, on Sunday, October 16, 2011. Flood defenses protecting the Thai capital held up on October 15, but the advancing waters that have swamped the inland still threaten to engulf Bangkok in a disaster that has claimed 300 lives. AFP PHOTO/PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL

GENEVA—Over 700 people have been killed and eight million affected by heavy flooding across Southeast Asia, the United Nations said Tuesday, adding that it stood ready to provide humanitarian relief.

“The UN is ready to provide aid,” said Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

Torrential rains have pelted Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, cutting off roads and destroying homes and crops.

Byrs warned that sea surges were expected in Thailand on Wednesday, as well as from October 28 through 30, which could threaten to break through flood barriers.

A landslide alert has also been issued for four provinces in the south of Thailand.

In Laos, 892 homes have been washed away and 2,500 livestock perished, and in Cambodia and Vietnam access is difficult to affected zones, Byrs said.