Severe Flooding Causes Deaths and Displacements Across Southern Thailand and Malaysia

Flooding triggered by persistent heavy rains has led to at least eight deaths in southern Thailand and compelled thousands to seek refuge in evacuation centers in neighboring Malaysia, officials reported Monday. Authorities have intensified relief efforts to provide shelter and support to the affected communities.

In southern Thailand, floodwaters reaching waist height have affected 10 provinces, while adjacent Malaysian states across eight regions have also been severely impacted. These areas, spanning hundreds of kilometers, faced similar flooding during last year's seasonal monsoon, which claimed at least 12 lives.

Thailand's southern commercial city of Hat Yai experienced its highest daily rainfall in over three centuries last Friday, according to the country's irrigation department. Weekend footage broadcast on local television showed residents wading through murky floodwaters in busy city areas where shops and motorcycles were submerged.

Residents improvised by using plastic containers as makeshift boats to transport children, while parked trucks and buses lined up along the sparse dry roads. Vehicles attempted slow passage through flooded streets.

The eight reported fatalities in Thailand were primarily due to electrocution and flood-related accidents. The Thai disaster agency has deployed hundreds of boats and specialized vehicles with high clearance to deliver aid to the afflicted, noting that approximately 700,000 households have been affected since last week.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered an increase in the deployment of water pumps, emphasizing that the assistance must be comprehensive, sufficient, and timely, according to an official government statement.

In Malaysia, over 15,000 individuals are currently residing in 90 evacuation centers, with no deaths confirmed thus far. Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed that civil defense units are on standby, having mobilized more than 90 land and water assets including trucks, four-wheel-drive vehicles, and water rescue equipment.

In a public message on the social platform X, Ahmad Zahid expressed hope that the flooding would not cause extensive destruction and encouraged those affected to remain resilient.

Meanwhile, flooding in central Vietnam has begun to recede following a week of landslides and inundation that claimed 91 lives and disabled power supplies for 1.1 million households and businesses. Preliminary estimates place property damage at 13 trillion dong (approximately $493 million). The government has provided cash assistance and distributed 4,000 tons of rice to flood victims.

In Vietnam, over 200,000 homes, 200,000 hectares of crops, and 1,157 hectares of fish farms were submerged. The floods have also disrupted coffee harvesting in the central highlands, a region frequently affected by storms and flooding.