A faithful dog sleeps beside the body of his 43-year-old master while waiting for rescue workers to arrive. The man died in the floods that ravaged Phrae’s Muang district but the dog has remained with him for several days.

More than 200 relatives of flood victims flocked to the Victim Identification Centre yesterday hoping to find their loved ones still missing three days after the flash-floods hit the North.

The offices of the Uttaradit Songkroh Foundation have been given over to the Victim Identification Centre where lessons learnt from the tsunami are being put into practice.

The Central Institute of Forensic Science and the Royal Police Bureau are jointly operating the centre. Doctors and staff from Uttaradit Hospital are assisting in forensic work, which is being coordinated by Dr Pornthip Rojanasunand.

As of yesterday, only 12 bodies remained unidentified.

The chief of the Uttaradit Songkroh Foundation, Som-chai Chongsirikarnkha, said although the media were reporting only about 30 dead, the centre had taken in at least 40 bodies from Laplae district alone. Confirmed reports said 31 had died in Tha Pla district and six bodies had been found in Muang Uttaradit district.

"We estimate there are about 100 bodies in inaccessible places, like Laplae's Ban Pha Moob village where rescuers are still working," Somchai said.

There was some confusion over the operations of the forensic team. Isaret Lohitpintu, deputy chief of Mae Poon tambon administrative organisation who led a rescue team at Ban Maharat village, said after they found a body, they told the forensic team but no one had turned up.

"One hundred members of our team had to stop working while we waited for five hours for the forensic team. It was a waste of time," he said.

Rain was still falling on Laplae yesterday as victims waited for help. A rescue team was asked to help two teachers who had been stuck at the Rajabhat Uttaradit University  and a judge's family who had been trapped in their home.

Many residents whose houses had so far escaped the worst of the flooding decided to evacuate yesterday.

In Sukhothai, the Yom River overflowed, flooding six districts, leaving residents stranded. Sawankalok resident Nittaya Feangkaew, 46, said she and her family had been camping beside the road for three nights. Yesterday was the first time they had received fresh drinking water from rescuers, she said.