Raging floods surged through homes as Storm Mulan swamped northern Thailand at the weekend.

Terrified resident Pitchaya watched as the muddy water gushed through her neighborhood in Chiang Rai province following heavy rain on August 13.

Pitchaya's family and hundreds of other households in the area were forced to move to the second floor of their properties while they waited for the water to recede.

She said: 'It was scary. Everything I had was damaged by the flood. My family and I now have a lot of cleaning to do.'

The torrential weather - which battered China and is now downgraded to a tropical depression over Vietnam - caused severe flooding across six Thai provinces.

Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation officials said the tropical depression, augmented by a monsoon lying across Myanmar, northern Thailand and northern Laos, caused strong downpours from August 11 to 14.

Thousands of homes across the region were submerged as rescue teams battled to evacuate residents to higher ground, or strengthen flood defences with sandbags. Relief teams were also delivering food and fresh water to residents stranded by the water.

Sandbags were also being used to block the water from spilling into homes and shops while pumps had been brought ini to try and shift the water.

The country's Meteorological Department said Mulan had weakened to a low-pressure cell as it entered Yunnan province in China but the storm has caused widespread heavy rainfall in some of Thailand's northern and northeastern provinces.

Landslides and blocked roads have also been reported across the region as officials try to reach those affected and move them to safe centres.