Malaysian Families Wade Three Kilometres Through Hat Yai Floods To Get Home

PADANG BESAR, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Four Malaysian families, comprising 15 people, waded through nearly three kilometres of waist-deep floodwaters in Hat Yai early this morning after being stranded since Friday as severe flooding hit southern Thailand.

The group included 10 adults aged 15 to 79, four children aged three to 12, and an eight-month-old baby.

One of the victims, Muhammad Imran Hazim, 19, said the families, all relatives from Penang, made the difficult decision to leave their hotel at 6.30 am (Thailand time) after monitoring the rising floodwaters throughout the night.

He said they packed clothes and valuables into black plastic bags to ease movement, including carrying the eight-month-old baby through the floodwaters to a safer area before securing transport to the Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) Padang Besar station.

“We took the risk because of the young children, the baby and the elderly. Electricity, water and internet were completely cut off, we had no way to communicate with anyone.

“All the shops were closed and there was no food. The water kept rising, so we decided we couldn’t wait any longer,” he told Bernama when met at the KTMB station here today.

He said they paid about RM2,000 for transport due to road closures and vehicles being unable to enter flooded areas. They arrived at Padang Besar at 11.30 am to catch a train to Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

The families had travelled to Hat Yai on Friday for a holiday, entering through Padang Besar by tourist van and checking into their hotel around 1 pm.

“It was already raining when we arrived and it only got heavier. By night, the power, water and internet were gone,” he said.

Despite the ordeal, Muhammad Imran said they were grateful to have made it home safely and described the experience as a reminder to plan trips more cautiously, especially during the monsoon season and in flood-prone areas of southern Thailand.

-- BERNAMA