Heavy rainfall has unleashed deadly floods across Southeast Asia, damaging crops and stranding tourists, with more downpours expected into early next week.
Flooding in southern Thailand has killed at least 13 people and swamped around 800,000 households, with key rubber- and palm oil-producing areas inundated by rising waters. In Peninsular Malaysia, more than 16,000 people have been displaced, while floods claimed 90 lives in Central Vietnam.
Heavy rainfall is typical for this time of year due to the northeast monsoon, but the recent downpours have been notable for their intensity and impact. The US Climate Prediction Center forecasts wetter-than-average conditions persisting into next week across the battered regions, including the Philippines, which is still reeling from the impacts of a series of typhoons.
The hardest-hit area in Thailand is Hat Yai district in Songkhla province, a commercial hub and transport gateway for the south of the country. It’s a popular destination for Malaysian visitors and hosts one of six international airports operated by Airports of Thailand Pcl, the nation’s biggest operator.
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More than 4,000 Malaysian tourists are stranded in hotels and at Hat Yai airport, and inbound trips from Malaysia to southern Thailand are set to be canceled this week, the Bangkok Post reported, citing the governor of the Tourism Authority. The neighboring Malaysian state of Kelantan has also been swamped by rain.
In Central Vietnam, rescue and recovery work is continuing in four provinces, where severe flooding has caused economic damage estimated at more than 13 trillion dong ($493 million), according to the government.
More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed or damaged, over 80,000 hectares of rice and other crops have been ruined, and over 3.3 million livestock and poultry killed or swept away, the government said. Flooding also delayed harvesting in the nation’s biggest coffee-growing province of Dak Lak.
The affected areas from Vietnam to southern Thailand have already received significantly above-normal rainfall in the month to Nov 23, according to data from the US Climate Prediction Center. That further amplifies flood risks, with more rain unlikely to be absorbed by the saturated ground.
