Thousands of residents evacuated as floods surged across southern Thailand.

Locals had fled to rooftops to escape the deluge before they were rescued by soldiers during heavy rainfall in Songkhla, on November 24.

Rescue teams used trucks and boats to retrieve trapped residents as water levels reached 6.6ft (2m).

The rescued individuals were taken to a school converted into a makeshift shelter for flood victims.

Jury Numkaew, deputy leader of the Democrat Party, also opened the Sports & Health Centre at Prince of Songkla University to cope with the growing number of displaced families.

He said: 'I've been urging evacuees to come here as much as possible. After two days of seeing the situation myself, I've noticed that many of the people leaving their homes are elderly or young children who need hospital transfers.

'In the building below, we have doctors, nurses, and medical students ready to provide first aid, sleeping spaces, and, most importantly, food and other essential supplies. It's better than trying to deliver every meal to people trapped in their houses. So if you're in an at-risk area, I'm really encouraging you to evacuate here if you can.'

The official added that the rescuers were facing difficulties due to strong currents and road closures, as torrential downpour continued to batter the province.

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 1.9 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.