Officials reported on Saturday that flooding from heavy rains in southern Thailand had killed nine people and displaced over 13,000 others, as rescue crews used boats and jet skis to try to reach stranded residents.
Local media footage showed residents wading through chest-deep, murky water and cars submerged in flooded streets.
On its official Facebook page, the nation’s disaster agency stated, “Agencies are mobilizing urgent assistance as flooding across eight provinces in southern Thailand has affected 553,921 households and claimed nine lives.”
It also stated that over 13,000 people had been compelled to leave their homes, with makeshift shelters being established in temples and schools.
Nampa, who lives in the coastal province of Songkhla, expressed her worries about the declining food supplies to state broadcaster Thai PBS.
“We are doing fine now, but I am not sure how long we can stay in this condition,” she continued.
In the neighboring province of Pattani, two hospitals halted operations to protect medical facilities from floodwater damage.
Disaster officials in neighboring north Malaysia, where the rains forced at least 80,000 people to evacuate to temporary shelters this week, report that at least four people have died.
According to the Thai Meteorological Department, “very heavy rain” may persist through next week in certain parts of the country’s south.
The government has allocated 50 million baht ($1.7 million) for flood relief in each province and sent rescue teams to help impacted citizens.
According to Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the objective was to “restore normalcy as quickly as possible” on Friday on the social media platform X.
Although Thailand receives monsoon rains every year, scientists claim that climate change is making weather patterns more intense, which increases the likelihood of destructive floods.
Widespread flooding throughout the nation in 2011 damaged millions of homes and claimed over 500 lives.
