Severe flooding in southern Thailand killed at least 33 people and displaced and stranded tens of thousands more amid record-setting rainfall in parts of the country. The deluge is the latest in a string of deadly weather across Southeast Asia, prompting evacuations in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Photos and video taken Tuesday and Wednesday show murky brown floodwater stretching to the horizon in sections of Thailand’s south, with cars and buildings submerged. Rescuers can be seeing assisting people in the street and fetching the stranded from the roofs of homes by motor boats. Muddy wreckage and debris can be seen scattered across the landscape in areas from which water has receded.
Nine provinces remained impacted by the flooding Wednesday, with the government declaring a state of emergency in one of them, Songkhla, on Tuesday.
The city of Hat Yai in Songkhla saw over 13 inches of rain on Friday — the greatest amount in a single day in 300 years, according to local media, citing regional irrigation officials. A blanket evacuation order for flood-prone areas of Hat Yai was issued Monday by Songkhla Governor Rathasat Cherdchu, with local authorities reporting water rising to over eight feet.
Planes and helicopters packed with military personnel and paramedics were deployed Wednesday to rescue people and deliver aid. In one video posted by government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat, rescue workers toss aid down to the roof of an apartment building from a helicopter hovering above.
Water was still rising in some provinces Wednesday, reported the Bangkok Post.
The Thai Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation announced Wednesday morning that more than 2.7 million people had been affected by the flooding, with tens of thousands moved into shelters.
Later Wednesday, the department warned people in the Trang, Phatthalung, Satun, Songkhla, Pattani, Narathiwat, and Yala provinces of the risk of landslides after the flooding.
A deadly season of storms and heavy rains has killed scores in neighboring countries in the weeks leading up to Thailand’s floods. In Malaysia, 15,000 people were evacuated to shelters on account of the same floodwaters devastating southern Thailand. At least 90 people died in Vietnam amid heavy rain and resulting landslides. And earlier in November, multiple storms battered the Philippines, killing at least 200 people.
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