Apple stuck her trunk out of the swollen river like a snorkel, paddling desperately to stay afloat. But the 2 ton, 15-year-old elephant was no match for the flooding that inundated the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai last week.

Several provinces in central Thailand braced for floods Sunday after the Irrigation Department announced it was releasing water from a major dam after weeks of frequent heavy rain.

Chiang Mai, Thailand’s northern city popular with tourists, has been inundated by widespread flooding as its main river overflowed its banks following heavy seasonal rainfall.

Areas of a key tourist city in northern Thailand, as well as the surrounding provinces, have been flooded by swelling water levels of a major river in addition to a dam exceeding storage capacity.

BANGKOK – Flash flooding in popular Thai tourist hot spot Chiang Mai has killed three people, a health official said on Oct 6, as visitors evacuated hotels through knee-high muddy water and shops closed in the city centre. Two elephants also drowned in rapidly rising floodwaters north of the city, their sanctuary said on Oct 6.

Severe floods in Chiang Mai kill three people, displace residents, and tragically drown two elephants in sanctuary waters.

The Chiang Mai city government said the water level of the Ping River, which runs along the eastern edge of the city, was at critically high levels and was rising since Friday.