As heavy monsoon rains pummelled Thailand, floods started occurring. At the beginning, the flooding was normal and not very serious but it later worsened into a disaster. For almost a month the area remained flooded and then the waters claimed their very first victims.[4] The southern parts of nation were in bigger trouble as a tropical depression that was to become Cyclone Jal hit the country, increasing the impact of floods by packing strong winds of about 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) with it.[5] Many areas were flooded with water up to 50 centimetres (20 in) deep.