RESCUERS in Thailand are ramping up emergency operations, employing drones to deliver food parcels to those stranded by severe floods, as receding waters across southern Thailand and parts of Malaysia offer a window to evacuate residents marooned for days.
Meanwhile, neighbouring Indonesia reels from Cyclone Senyar, which has killed at least 28 people in North Sumatra and left ten more missing.
Reuters reported on Thursday that severe flooding, caused by a week of relentless rainfall, has claimed at least 33 lives in Thailand and two in Malaysia, forcing tens of thousands into evacuation centres, with some trapped by waters reaching up to two metres.
“It’s a race against time,” Thai government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Nation TV.
He explained that rescue teams were preparing to use drones to deliver food parcels, relying on satellite internet amid telecoms outages.
“We have to help them out,” he added, noting that authorities expected to rescue even more people on Thursday.
Nearly three million people across nine southern Thai provinces have been affected, with the city of Hat Yai among the worst-hit areas.
Some 3,000 residents were moved to safety, including critically ill patients airlifted from a partially submerged hospital.
Thousands remained stranded on rooftops after record rainfall of 335 millimetres in a single day, the highest in 300 years, inundated streets and homes.
To bolster relief efforts, the Thai military deployed at least 20 helicopters, aircraft and truck convoys to distribute food, medical supplies, and small boats, while appealing publicly for additional boats and jet skis.
The nation’s only aircraft carrier, Chakri Naruebet, has also joined operations, providing aerial support, food, and medicines.
In Indonesia, North Sumatra faced catastrophic floods and landslides triggered by Cyclone Senyar. Bridges and homes were damaged, power outages hampered rescue operations, and gushing waters exceeding one metre swept debris along densely populated areas.
Kompas TV footage showed earth sliding down hillsides, piling up in front of homes.
Meteorologists attribute the extreme weather across Southeast Asia to the interaction of Typhoon Koto in the Philippines and the unusual formation of Cyclone Senyar in the Malacca Strait. Experts warn that rising sea surface temperatures due to global warming could fuel increasingly frequent and intense storms.
The current floods follow a series of typhoons and heavy monsoon rains that have battered the Philippines, Vietnam, and other parts of the region.
In Malaysia, flooding across seven states has prompted the evacuation of more than 34,000 people, while around 500 Malaysians remained stranded in the Thai city of Hat Yai.
Container lorries have been deployed to transport some evacuees home, as smaller vehicles remain unable to traverse floodwaters.
For some residents, the scale of the deluge has been terrifying. In Perlis, 73-year-old Gon Qasim described being trapped amid rising waters in a paddy field.
“The water was like the ocean,” she said.
Meanwhile, in Hat Yai, 70-year-old Kritchawat Sothiananthakul recounted climbing from his roof with his dog into a boat before reaching a makeshift evacuation centre, where he comforted his pet on a mat in a sports hall.
“I needed to carry it and then get onto a truck,” he said tearfully, reflecting the human toll behind the relentless floods.
Authorities in Thailand and Malaysia are working tirelessly to deliver aid and evacuate residents as the disaster response scales up, highlighting both the destructive force of extreme weather and the urgent need for regional preparedness. - November 27, 2025
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