A pensioner was swept to his death in raging floods in southern Thailand.

Narin Sripan, 76, and his daughter Chotika, 36, were pushing their car through the deluge when the father was dragged away by floodwaters in Nakhon Si Thammarat province.

Chotika said she managed to cling onto a nearby banana tree but her father disappeared under the currents.

Rescue teams arrived at the residential area on the afternoon of November 20, following a report that a local had gone missing.

Dramatic footage shows emergency responders, wearing life vests and helmets, diving into the chest-deep floods.They fought their way through the fast-moving torrents until they found Narin pinned against a tree.

Relatives broke down in tears when his lifeless body was returned to their home.

Grieving daughter Chotika said: 'Before the incident, we were trying to move our car to higher ground to escape the flooding. As we were walking home the powerful flash flood hit us. It swept my father away. I couldn't do anything but cling to a tree or we both would have drowned.'

Narin underwent a post-mortem exam at the Thung Song Hospital. His body has been handed over to the family for a funeral.

Thailand's Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) said more than 228,000 rai (90,000 acres) of land in southern Thailand has been flooded as of Sunday, November 23.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said some 1.47 milion people across 10 southern provinces were affected.

The Southern Eastern Meteorological Centre said a strong monsoon trough was causing the heavy rainfall, which was expected to ease this week.

Thailand and neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia are in their annual monsoon rainy season which sees soaring temperatures followed by powerful rain storms in the afternoon leading to widespread flash floods.