4 Children And Baby Among 15 Who Fled Flooded Hatyai On Foot

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The group, comprising relatives from Penang, waded through waist-deep water for 3km before reaching safety.
Residents of Hatyai seen wading through floodwaters. (Lucia Lai Facebook pic)PADANG BESAR: Four children and a baby were in a group of 15 Malaysians from four Penang families who waded through nearly 3km of waist-deep floodwaters in Hatyai to a safer area early this morning
The families, who had been stranded since Friday as severe flooding hit southern Thailand, managed to secure transport to the KTM railway station in Padang Besar.
The group included 10 adults and teenagers aged 15 to 79, four children aged three to 12, and an eight-month-old baby.
One of the victims, Imran Hazim, 19, said the families, all relatives from Penang, made the difficult decision to leave their hotel at 6.30am after monitoring the rising floodwaters throughout the night.
“We took the risk because of the young children, the baby and the elderly,” he said.
“Electricity, water and the 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.
He said they paid about RM2,000 for transport because roads were closed and vehicles were unable to enter flooded areas. They arrived at Padang Besar at 11.30am 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 at around 1pm.
“It was already raining when we arrived and it only got heavier. By night, the power, water and internet were gone,” he said.
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. - FMT

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