HAY YAI/KUALA PERLIS: Rescuers in Thailand readied drones on Thursday to airdrop food parcels, as receding floodwaters in the south and neighboring Malaysia brightened hopes for the evacuation of those stranded for days, while cyclone havoc in Indonesia killed 28.
Severe floods after a week of heavy rain have killed at least 33 in Thailand and two in neighboring Malaysia, with tens of thousands huddling in evacuation centers, some after being cut off for days by waters as much as 2 m (7 ft) high.
“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, relying on satellite Internet in the face of telecoms outages.
“We have to help them out,” he added, saying authorities expected to rescue even more people on Thursday.
The receding floodwaters are allowing disaster teams in Thailand and Malaysia to boost aid deliveries and efforts to move people out of waterlogged homes.
