Deputy Prime Minister Thammanat Prompao has ordered helicopters to airdrop food and relief supplies to families stranded in the severely flooded areas of Hat Yai district in southern Thailand.
Thousands of residents across the city remain trapped in their homes, urgently needing assistance.
Thai PBS reporters noted hearing screams and cries for help from people stranded on rooftops in several neighborhoods.
Thammanat emphasized that delivering food to these residents is the top priority. At least 20 helicopters from various government agencies are ready for the mission.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has appointed Thammanat to lead the flood relief operations center established on Monday.
Speaking to Thai PBS after a meeting with relevant agencies in Hat Yai, Thammanat admitted that relief efforts over the past few days had been disorganized.
“There have been widespread complaints that local authorities were poorly prepared and lacked coordination,” he said. “But from today onward, the operations will be better coordinated.”
He added that jet skis and boats from various agencies are being deployed to reach homes where the elderly and children require urgent assistance.
Meanwhile, Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was in Hat Yai today to observe the flooding situation.
Abhisit called on the Anutin government to set up a coordination center to assist affected residents, as communication is currently very difficult, making evacuations challenging. “The heart of rescue efforts is coordination,” he said.
Abhisit, a former prime minister, noted that the flooding in the South is not as severe as in past years, such as in 2000 and 2010.
He added that due to the inundation, he had to cancel his planned visits to shelters, and that everywhere he visited, he was informed of residents trapped inside their homes.
