Flooding in southern Thailand kills at least 9, displaces thousands
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Severe flooding has forced tens of thousands of people in southern Thailand and northern Malaysia to flee to shelters.
PHOTO: AFP
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BANGKOK – Flooding driven by heavy rain in southern Thailand has killed at least nine people and displaced more than 13,000, officials said on Nov 30, as rescue teams using boats and jet skis worked to reach stranded residents.
Local media footage showed residents wading through murky, chest-deep water and cars submerged in flooded streets.
“Flooding across eight provinces in southern Thailand has affected 553,921 households and claimed nine lives, prompting agencies to mobilise urgent assistance,” the country’s disaster agency said on its official Facebook page. More than 13,000 people were forced to flee their homes, with temporary shelters set up in schools and temples, it added.
Ms Nampa, a resident of coastal Songkhla province, told state broadcaster Thai PBS she was concerned about the dwindling food supplies.
“We are doing fine now, but I am not sure how long can we stay in this condition,” she said.
Two hospitals in nearby Pattani province suspended operations to prevent flood waters from damaging medical facilities.
In neighbouring northern Malaysia, the rain has forced the evacuation of at least 80,000 people to temporary shelters this week, with disaster officials there saying at least four people have been killed
The Thai Meteorological Department has warned that “very heavy rain” could continue to affect some areas of the country’s south through next week.
The Thai government has deployed rescue teams to assist affected residents and designated 50 million baht (S$1.95 million) in flood relief for each province.
People navigating a flooded street in Pasir Puteh, in Malaysia’s Kelantan state, on a makeshift boat.
PHOTO: AFP
Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said on Nov 29 on social media platform X that the goal was to “restore normalcy as quickly as possible”.
While Thailand experiences annual monsoon rains, scientists say man-made climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that can make destructive floods more likely.
Widespread flooding across the country in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes. AFP
