A rescue team and a group of villagers were left baffled when they spotted a cow standing calmly on the roof of a building during the floods in Thailand.

Footage shows the white-horned beast standing still atop the house while rescuers evacuated residents in a rubber boat in Songkhla.

The bovine can be seen staring back at the passing locals while they giggled in shock, wondering how the cow managed to stay up on the roof on November 28.

The rescue personnel speculated that the cow had climbed onto the roof when the floodwater level was higher.

Local media reported that the cow's owner contacted one of the rescuers to ask where the location was and eventually went to retrieve the animal, bringing it safely back home.

The death toll reached 176 as the catastrophic floods, described by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul as 'the worst flooding in 15 years', swept through southern Thailand.

The premier on Saturday apologised for the government's bungled flood response amid public outrage, telling them 'that the government was unable to take care and protect them'.

Songkhla province suffered the highest death toll, with 131 fatalities. Hat Yai district was among the worst-hit areas, recording a staggering 13 inches (335 mm) of rainfall in a single day on November 21.

The Southern Eastern Meteorological Centre said a strong monsoon trough had caused the heavy rainfall.

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.