"I saw her half floating, half wading," Kosol Khantitarn recalled.

He said he had been bringing food and water to hand out to flood victims on Thursday when he saw Ubon Petchjinda, 59, desperate to seek help.

"My mother-in-law is 97 years old. I am concerned for her safety because she is cut off by the floods," Ubon said, adding that their old house had only one storey.

Volunteers and rescue workers then transferred Ubon's mother-in-law to the Sing Buri Hospital.

As of yesterday, Ubon and her 15-year-old niece were stilling living in their flooded home in Sing Buri's Muang district. They rely on free food provided by a nearby temple.

Sing Buri is among the heaviest-hit provinces in the latest round of flooding, which has seriously affected many northern and central provinces. Flood-water levels have reached 2.5 metres on some local roads.

HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has given 400 relief-item bags to the acting governor of Sing Buri, Praneet Boonmee, for him to distribute to local flood victims.

In another central province, Angthong, the Chao Phaya River burst through earth embankments at some spots, flooding many villages. The sudden inundation left 700 local families in Muang district homeless.

The flooding also led to fights and conflicts. Because of flooding in Angthong market, many vendors decided to run their business from stalls along the Pho Phya-Tha Rua Road and a bypass, paralysing traffic. Some motorists became angry and quarrelled with the vendors. As tempers flared some vehicles were hammered and scratched.

In Angthong's Chaiyo district, Chaiyo Hospital workers were busy building sandbag walls. The flood water at the back of the hospital stood at one metre high as of press time but had not yet flooded the building because of a high wall.