Floods in Southeast Asia: dozens dead and thousands evacuated due to record rains

Parts of Thailand are battling record flooding, which has killed at least 18 people and prompted authorities to deploy military ships and helicopters to support relief efforts.

The deluge affected ten provinces in the country’s south over the past week, and the city of Hat Yai, a commercial hub on the border with Malaysia, recorded the heaviest rainfall in 300 years: 335 mm in a single day.

Photos show vehicles and houses submerged in the city, while desperate residents wait to be rescued on their rooftops.

Incessant rains have also devastated neighboring countries. In Vietnam, the death toll rose to 91 in a week, while in Malaysia, more than 19,000 people were forced to leave their homes.

More than 2 million people in Thailand have been affected by the floods, but only 13,000 have been moved to shelters.

The vast majority are isolated and cannot get help, according to the Reuters news agency.

The Thai military, which has been tasked with tackling the crisis, said it is preparing to send an aircraft carrier and a flotilla of 14 ships loaded with relief supplies, along with field kitchens said to be able to deliver 3,000 meals a day.

Medical teams aboard the aircraft carrier will convert it into a “floating hospital” if necessary, the navy said.

Boats, high-riding trucks and jet skis have also been deployed to evacuate residents, said the governor of Songkhla province, where Hat Yai is located.

The cabinet declared Songkhla a disaster zone on Tuesday, freeing up funds for relief.

However, many people remain stranded amid rising waters.

A volunteer rescue group, the Matchima Rescue Centre, told Reuters it had been inundated with thousands of calls in the past three days, from people asking to be evacuated.

People have also posted urgent calls for help on Matchima’s Facebook page. “A lot of people are trapped… Please help,” wrote one user. “It’s very difficult right now. The water has reached the second floor, where there are children, the elderly, the sick and the disabled!!!”

Another wrote that his family had been waiting for help for three days: “Every second is crucial now… Please help us share. My [phone’s] The battery is at 40%. Thank you all.”

Some also wrote that they had not eaten or drank for days.

A clip that has gone viral on social media shows three children hanging from power lines, trying to inch toward safety as murky brown waters continue to rise beneath them.

In Malaysia, more than 19,000 people have been evacuated to safe places and 126 evacuation centers have been established in the northern border areas.

In Kelantan and Perlis states, rescue teams waded through knee-deep floodwaters to evacuate residents in areas where rising waters had cut off access to roads.