HAT YAI: Thailand airlifted patients and flew critical supplies, including oxygen tanks, into a submerged southern city on Wednesday, as the death toll from some of the region’s worst floods in years climbed to 33.

Floods have swept through nine Thai provinces and eight in neighbouring Malaysia, as well as Indonesia, for a second successive year, prompting both countries to evacuate nearly 50,000 people.

In Indonesia, 13 people are estimated to have died, while one has died in Malaysia.

Three days of torrential rain starting last week dumped record volumes on Hat Yai, Thailand’s southern commercial hub, flooding hospitals and stranding thousands on rooftops. On Friday, the city received 335mm of rain, its highest in a single day for 300 years.

The Thai military has mobilised boats, helicopters and even its lone aircraft carrier to deliver supplies and evacuate the sick.

Extreme weather events can become more frequent as a result of global warming, with higher sea surface temperatures supercharging tropical storms.

Call for equipment

Without electricity, parts of the city were still in darkness late on Wednesday and swamped by almost waist-high swirling brown water.

Rescue workers pushed boats through flooded neighbourhoods, some of them loaded with residents pulled out of their homes.

In an update on social media, provincial authorities said that flood waters in many areas were gradually receding but currents remain strong, hindering rescue operations. The Thai military has pressed some 200 boats and 20 helicopters into service in the area, and authorities have received appeals for help from around 77,000 people through social media channels.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2025