The death toll from the worst flooding in years in southern Thailand has risen to 33, with authorities preparing aircraft carriers to deliver relief and medical supplies as the situation worsens. More rain is forecast for the region.
Authorities said on Wednesday they planned to send helicopters to evacuate critically ill patients from a hospital in the area that was cut off by the floods.
The floods have inundated nine provinces in Thailand and eight in neighboring Malaysia, forcing the evacuation of about 45,000 people in both countries, Reuters reported.
At least eight to 13 people have died in floods and landslides in Indonesia this week, and one in Malaysia.
A public health official in Hat Yai, Thailand’s worst-hit city, told Reuters that the first floor of a major government hospital in the city had been submerged. There are 600 patients, including about 50 in intensive care. There are plans to send food by helicopter and evacuate critically ill patients on the way back.
“All patients in the intensive care unit at Hat Yai Hospital will be evacuated today (Wednesday),” said Somrek Chungsaman, an official at the Ministry of Public Health.
At a news conference, government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat said about 20 helicopters and 200 boats had been deployed to carry out rescue operations in Hat Yai. However, reaching people stranded there was difficult.
Somrek said the hospital, which is home to about 2,000 people, including patients, relatives and medical staff, could be used to send food by boat if the water recedes.
Last week, Hat Yai received 335 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a single day, the heaviest rainfall the city has received in 300 years.
The Thai navy said military helicopters were delivering generators to the hospital. Thailand’s only aircraft carrier, the Chakri Noruet, left its home port on Tuesday to help with relief efforts.
Nine southern provinces in Thailand, including Songkla, where Hat Yat is located, have been hit by floods. The country’s interior ministry said 980,000 homes and more than 2.7 million people have been affected by the floods.
The country’s meteorological department said thunderstorms and heavy rains were expected in several flood-hit provinces, including Songkla, on Wednesday.
