Many people are stranded without food, drinking water or electricity on the upper floors or rooftops of their flooded houses, hostels and condominiums in Hat Yai, as evacuation is being hampered by continuous rain and strong currents, to the extent that even boats are unable to reach them.
The Department of Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation issued a warning last night, through the cell broadcast system, that floodwater in Hat Yai’s municipal area and its vicinity is expected to rise today, due to runoffs from the U-Tapao Canal and heavy rainfall. The average depth of flood water today is 1.45 metres.
Songkhla provincial governor said that many residents were unaware of the order for mass evacuation, because the batteries of their cellphones had depleted, adding that it would take at least two weeks for the floodwater to recede.
Meanwhile, emergency response teams have been working frantically around the clock to evacuate stranded flood victims to evacuation centres, using army and four-wheel drive trucks, provided by the private sector, to reach them. Strong currents have made it impossible for flat-bottom boats to operate.
A flood victim in Ban Phru posted a message on social media saying that he and other family members had been stranded on their roof for about 19 hours without any sign of rescue. After the post, a rescue team on jet-skies managed to locate them and took them to safety.
Ple Nakorn, one of the celebrity volunteers, said in his Facebook post yesterday that his rescue boat passed several stranded victims shouting for help, but that, despite feeling sorry for them, he could not respond due to insufficient manpower.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said, last night, that additional evacuation shelters will be set up to accommodate the increasing number of flood victims, adding that all authorities concerned have been working tirelessly to help the flood victims and to manage relief operations.
He said that Supreme Commander Gen Ukrit Boontanont will fly to Hat Yai today to supervise coordination between military and non-military operations assisting flood victims.
All of Songkhla province, including Hat Yai, has been declared a public disaster zone.
Meanwhile, Dr. Wiroj Yommuang, director of Hat Yai Hospital, said yesterday that the hospital is still capable of caring for in-patients and emergency cases adding, though, that it will run out of food, drinking water, fuel and medical oxygen in the next three days.
The hospital is now accommodating about 800 in-patients, with enough beds to accommodate another 100. About 600 medical personnel are still working at the hospital.
The Meteorological Department predicts very heavy rain today in Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Satun and heavy rain in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phuket and Krabi.
