Thailand to airlift critical patients as southern floods kill 33
Authorities in Thailand are deploying helicopters to evacuate critically ill patients from a southern hospital stranded amid some of the region’s worst floods in years, as the death toll rises to 33, with more rain forecast.
Flooding has swept through nine Thai provinces and eight Malaysian states, forcing the evacuation of nearly 45,000 people across both countries. Thailand’s hardest-hit city, Hat Yai, saw the first floor of its main government hospital, treating around 600 patients, inundated. Approximately 50 patients were in intensive care, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
"Today, all intensive care patients will be transported out of Hat Yai Hospital," said Ministry of Public Health official Somrerk Chungsaman.
The Thai military has deployed about 20 helicopters and 200 boats to reach stranded residents, though rescue operations have faced challenges due to high water levels, according to government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat.
Patients, relatives, and medical staff at the hospital number around 2,000, with boats expected to deliver food and supplies as waters recede. Military helicopters are also transporting generators to the hospital, with equipment being staged on rooftops amid continuing heavy rain.
Hat Yai recorded 335 mm (13 inches) of rain in a single day last week, the heaviest in 300 years. The floods have affected over 980,000 homes and 2.7 million people across southern Thailand. Weather officials forecast further heavy rain and scattered thunderstorms in the coming days.
Thailand’s only aircraft carrier, Chakri Naruebet, has joined the rescue operation, providing air support, medical aid, and meals. Rescue teams have been pulling stranded families — including children and the elderly — from homes inundated by swirling floodwaters.
Many residents have turned to social media to seek urgent help. One person wrote, “Please help. I'm very worried about my mother,” after losing contact with her 53-year-old relative in Hat Yai, where domestic supplies had dwindled to just a bottle of water and two packs of instant noodles.
Convoys of trucks and aircraft are also transporting flat-bottomed boats, rubber dinghies, medical supplies, and personnel to Hat Yai as part of a coordinated relief effort.
Similar news
