Bangkok (AFP) – The death toll from days of widespread flooding in southern Thailand rose to 33 on Wednesday, with tens of thousands displaced in the country and neighbouring Malaysia, officials said.
The Thai government declared a state of emergency in southern Songkhla province on Tuesday, with torrential rains since late last week inundating the tourist hub of Hat Yai and the southern region.
An image from Wednesday published by AFP showed murky brown floodwater submerging streets and ground floors of residential buildings in the city of Hat Yai.
"Authorities say 33 people have died across seven provinces, with causes including flash floods, electrocution and drowning," Thai government spokesman Siripong Angkasakulkiat told reporters.
"The water level is expected to recede in the south," he added.
Severe flooding has spread to seven southern provinces, home to several million people, according to the disaster prevention and mitigation department.
The flooding since last week has stranded residents and travellers in their homes and hotels, with rescuers using boats, jet skis and military trucks amid high floodwaters.
The military has deployed an aircraft carrier and mobilised helicopters to airlift patients to nearby hospitals, the army said.
More than 10,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in Songkhla since last week, the province's public relations department said.
University campuses have been converted into shelters for displaced people.
The Songkhla provincial administration said Wednesday that it had set up food centres capable of distributing up to 20,000 food boxes a day to flood victims.
Thailand regularly records heavy rainfall from June to September, but experts say human-induced climate change has intensified extreme weather, making conditions increasingly unpredictable.
In neighbouring Malaysia, flooding from days of heavy rain swept through eight states, with forecasters predicting more rain in the region in the coming days.
More than 27,000 people were evacuated to dozens of temporary shelters this week, with one death recorded in one of the worst-hit states, Kelantan, on the northeastern coast, according to rescue officials.
The Malaysian Meteorological Department has warned that thunderstorms will continue until Wednesday in the northern states of Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak.
Floods are an annual phenomenon in the nation of 34 million people due to the northeast monsoon that brings heavy rain from November to March.
Malaysia's foreign ministry on Tuesday said it was monitoring the flooding across the border after thousands of Malaysian holidaymakers were stranded in hotels in southern Thailand last week.
"Most of the affected Malaysians had been staying in multi-storey hotels and have been accounted for," the ministry said in a statement.
As of Monday, "more than 6,300 Malaysians have safely crossed the border out of Thailand and safely arrived in Malaysia".