Thailand airlifted patients from Hat Yai in southern Songkhla province on Wednesday, after severe flooding hit the city, while using emergency equipment such as oxygen tanks to treat the injured.
Several days of torrential rains have caused flooding in nine Thai provinces and eight states in neighboring Malaysia, displacing about 50,000 people in the two countries.
People took shelter on rooftops and hospitals were flooded in Hat Yai, the commercial hub of southern Thailand, where 335 millimeters (about 13.2 inches) of rain fell in a single day, a 300-year record.
Thailand’s military mobilized about 200 boats, 20 helicopters and its only aircraft carrier to help with flood relief and rescue efforts.
“There have been 33 deaths across seven provinces,” Thai government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulakiat said in Bangkok. “Causes of death include being swept away by currents, drowning, electric shock and landslides.”
Planes dropped supplies for residents, government appealed for boats, jet skis
Provincial officials said on social media late Wednesday that floodwaters had begun to recede, but strong currents were hampering rescue efforts.
Military helicopters dropped equipment to residents gathered on rooftops, while other planes flew in carrying key supplies such as generators, oxygen tanks and drinking water.
The navy said the country’s aircraft carrier Chakri Naruebet departed from its home port on Tuesday to join the relief efforts.
The government also appealed to the public to donate useful relief equipment such as boats or jet skis.
The Interior Ministry said flooding in nine provinces, mainly in the south, had affected more than 980,000 homes or about 2.7 million people.
Yai’s main hospital was inundated, forcing authorities to transfer about 600 patients, 50 of whom were in intensive care.
The weather system that dumped about 630 millimeters of rain on Hat Yai in the past day has moved towards the Strait of Malacca and is expected to move towards Indonesia.
Flood in eight states of Malaysia
Flooding was recorded in eight areas of neighboring Malaysia, with forecasters predicting more rain in the coming days.
The country evacuated more than 27,000 people to temporary shelters this week, with one death recorded in Kelantan, one of the worst-hit states in the northeast.
Monsoon season in the country runs from November to March.
The Foreign Ministry said it was also monitoring more serious flooding across the border, which left thousands of Malaysian holidaymakers stranded in Thai hotels last week.
“Most of the affected Malaysians were staying in high-rise hotels and have been accounted for,” the ministry said in a statement. As of Monday, it said, “more than 6,300 Malaysians have safely crossed the border into Thailand.”
Edited by Carl Sexton