Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Trang, Phangnga, Chumphon, Songkhla, Krabi and Phatthalung provinces are not yet in the clear, even though less rain is forecast between today and Monday, the National Flood Relief Coordination Centre said yesterday.
The saturation of mountain soil following the recent heavy rains has exposed several low-lying areas to the risk of landslides and water run-off.
Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Trang and Phangnga have been alerted to the threats of run-off and landslides.
The centre will seek cabinet approval for a 1.5-billion-baht budget to help flood-stricken people next week, PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey said in his capacity as centre chairman.
The centre has agreed to pay an initial 5,000 baht to each of the 290,000 or so families affected by the catastrophic flooding.
Mr Sathit said that disbursement of the financial aid is expected after the Songkran festival.
He said the government is also speeding up disbursement of the remaining financial aid to 160,000 families affected by last year's floods.
The minister said the situation remains critical and the centre will issue a further warning for the eight provinces.
High tides have also slowed the diversion of flood water into the sea in several provinces.
According to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, 35 people have lost their lives in the southern disaster, including six who died in the run-off and mudslides in Krabi's Khao Phanom district.
About 100 rescue workers, including troops, yesterday continued to comb through the mud and rocks in a bid to locate those who remain missing.
Five people are confirmed as missing following the tragedy, including a five-year-old girl and four members of the Boonnium family.
Two other members of the family were among the six killed in the landslides.
Several districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani provinces have been left reeling by the effects of flooding.
The Tapi River in Surat Thani flowed over its banks, flooding Tha Rong Chang hospital, damaging medical supplies and forcing both staff and patients to evacuate.
Phunphin district is the worst hit, provincial governor Thirayuth Iamtrakul said.
A 220-metre-long bridge to Krabi across the Tapi River was yesterday damaged by raging waters.
Without the bridge, transportation to the Andaman coast has been completely cut off.
On Thursday, a parallel bridge from Krabi to Surat Thani was also damaged and closed to traffic.
The damage to the bridges is estimated at 100 million baht and repairs are expected to take up to a year.
In Nakhon Si Thammarat, efforts were under way to bring help to some 1,000 villagers stranded in tambon Nop Phi Tham in Nop Phi Tham district. Eight helicopters were deployed, but several residents refused to evacuate and remained in their homes to protect their belongings. In Si Chon district, about 400 people in three villages in tambon Chalong were evacuated to safety following landslides on Thursday night.
It is unknown how many people may have been trapped by the severe landslides.
The army has provided two Chinook helicopters to help evacuate people stranded in remote areas, while army engineers and highway officials have been working to repair damage to roads and bridges which has hampered rescue and relief efforts.
Army commander Prayuth Chan-ocha admitted yesterday that soldiers could not get to several of the flooded areas.
He said that the massive volume of water and the bad weather conditions have restricted the operations.
In Trang, communities were flooded yesterday as gushing water breached the Trang River embankment and washed into 30 houses, two schools and a temple in Muang district.
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