Bangkok, Thailand
—
A “once-in-300-year” storm has battered southern Thailand, causing flooding more than 8 feet high and cutting off access to a maternity ward with 30 newborns in one city, officials and officials said.
At least 19 people have died across southern Thailand, mainly from electrocutions and flood-related accidents, according to the Ministry of Health.
The heaviest rain was recorded in Hat Yai city, a major transportation and trade center in Songkhla province, which the country’s Royal Irrigation Department said was the “heaviest rain in the past 300 years”. The numbers show how rare these types of storms are, occurring once every 300 years, officials told CNN.
Nine provinces in southern Thailand remained flooded as of Monday, affecting more than 127,000 households, local authorities said. Nearly 400 millimeters (15.7 inches) of rainfall was recorded in some areas, exacerbated by river flooding and flash flooding.
In Hat Yai, floodwaters reached a depth of 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) and swept through the city, inundating homes. Photos from the city showed entire roads submerged, half-submerged homes and emergency workers in boats rescuing residents and delivering supplies.
Officials at Hat Yai Hospital described a frenzy on Tuesday, with water and electricity partially cut off since Monday night.
There are about 30 newborns in the infant ward whose parents are not at the hospital. “The hospital has to take care of the babies,” hospital nurse Fasiya Fatni said, adding that the babies’ parents “are worried but cannot come here. The water level is rising and all transportation has been cut off.”
She shared a photo of the infant ward, showing nurses sitting in a dark room lit only by a single lamp. Standing fans are placed throughout the room to keep the newborn cool in the crib.
The ward is on the third floor of the hospital, and she hopes it’s high enough that there will be no need to evacuate, she said.
But another nurse, Patiya Luamsuk, is worried about the increase in flooding. “Yesterday, only the first floor was flooded, but now the water is up to the second floor,” she said.
He added that about 500 people were hospitalized as of Tuesday, including 200 hospitalized patients, and urged authorities to provide more drinking water to those stranded.
The Irrigation Department announced Monday that it is working with various other government agencies and local authorities to respond to flooding in the region, including dispatching trucks to deliver supplies and evacuating people in high-risk areas.
They are also working to drain the floodwaters as quickly as possible, installing dozens of water pumps and propellers to divert floodwaters into nearby Songkhla Lake and the Gulf of Thailand off the country’s east coast.
The Irrigation Department said flooding in southern states is expected to “gradually ease” once the heavy rains subside, but authorities remain on “extra vigilance” for low-lying areas.
Days of heavy rain also affected neighboring countries. No deaths have been reported in Malaysia, but more than 15,000 people are in evacuation centers, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, floods and landslides in central Vietnam have killed 91 people and left 1.1 million homes and businesses without power over the past week, but water levels began to recede from Monday, Reuters reported.
