Rescuers in Thailand readied drones on Thursday to airdrop food parcels, as receding floodwaters in the south and neighbouring Malaysia brightened hopes for the evacuation of those stranded for days, while cyclone havoc in Indonesia killed at least 28.
Severe floods after a week of heavy rain have killed at least 33 in Thailand and two in neighbouring Malaysia, with tens of thousands huddling in evacuation centres.
"It's a race against time," Thai government spokesperson Siripong Angkasakulkiat told Nation TV, adding that rescue teams were preparing to use drones to deliver food parcels.
The receding floodwaters are allowing disaster teams in Thailand and Malaysia to boost aid deliveries and efforts to move people out of waterlogged homes.
The floods affected nearly 3 million in nine southern Thai provinces, authorities said, with 3,000 moved to safety from the worst-hit city of Hat Yai, including some critically ill airlifted on Wednesday from a partially swamped hospital.
TROPICAL CYCLONE DEVASTATES INDONESIAN PROVINCE
In Indonesia's province of North Sumatra, a tropical cyclone unleashed floods and landslides to kill at least 28, with 10 missing.
Power outages and damaged bridges and homes hampered rescue efforts, the disaster agency said.
Meteorologists say current extremes of weather in Southeast Asia could stem from the interaction of two active systems, Typhoon Koto in the Philippines and the unusual formation of Cyclone Senyar in the Malacca Strait.
'THE WATER WAS LIKE THE OCEAN'
In Malaysia, with floods in seven states, authorities said more than 34,000 people were evacuated from areas, and about 500 nationals were still stranded in the Thai tourist destination of Hat Yai.
Container lorries were used to bring home some Malaysians, the foreign minister told parliament on Thursday, as smaller vehicles were unable to traverse the floodwaters.
In the smallest state of Perlis, Gon Qasim said rising waters trapped her in her home in the middle of a paddy field.
"The water was like the ocean," the 73-year-old evacuee said.
Teams in Hat Yai worked into the dark on Wednesday, racing to reach the stranded after more boats arrived for the rescue effort, navigating the challenges of both strong currents and shallows.
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The death toll from last week’s landslide in Indonesia has climbed to 60 as search and rescue teams continued operations on the seventh day to locate 20 people still missing in West Java.
Indonesia's military stepped up its relief efforts in three provinces on Sumatra island that have been devastated by deadly floods and landslides, and the country's vice president apologised for shortcomings in the response to last week's disaster.
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