Emotional homecoming for Singaporeans caught in Hat Yai floods; 893 have reached out to MFA so far
"It's like I narrowly escaped death," said Mdm Cynthia Chan, 73, on her return to Singapore on Friday (Nov 28).
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SINGAPORE: After being stranded due to severe floods, and taking hours to get to the airport in Hat Yai, a group of Singaporean travellers had an emotional reunion with their friends and relatives at Changi Airport on Friday afternoon (Nov 28).
Mdm Cynthia Chan and nine of her relatives, including her husband, were among the 893 Singaporeans affected by the floods who registered with Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs or reached out to it for assistance.
Of these, 608 have either reached Hat Yai International Airport or departed for Singapore, MFA said in a Facebook post on Friday.
Mdm Chan, 73, was teary-eyed as family members and friends welcomed her home with hugs and flowers at Changi Airport Terminal 1.
"It's like I narrowly escaped death," she said in Mandarin. “This is the biggest danger I've faced in my life."
Her family's maid, Raquel Pascua, was also at the airport to receive her. Tearing up, she said her employers had asked her to join them on the trip, but she decided not to as she was not feeling well.
"We (kept) waiting (for) any news from them," said Ms Pascua, 44, who has worked for the family for seven years.
Mdm Chan jokingly called Ms Pascua her granddaughter, and told members of the media that she was happy to be back in Singapore.
LIMITED FOOD, ELECTRICITY
Mdm Chan and her relatives were on holiday in Thailand when heavy rain caused severe flooding in the south of the country.
Last Friday, the city of Hat Yai received 335mm of rain, the highest level in a single day for 300 years.
Rising floodwaters cut off major roads, and power and water supply were disrupted in some areas, leaving thousands of people stranded.
All districts in southern Songkhla province were declared a disaster zone.
A Thai government spokesman on Friday said the total number of deaths across the southern provinces came up to 145, with Songkhla accounting for 110.
In Hat Yai, the rain had stopped, but the waters had not fully receded and many remained without electricity.
CNA previously reported that Mr Ronnie Toh, Mdm Chan's husband, was separated from the rest of the group after he waded through the rising waters to a nearby shopping centre in search of a stronger mobile phone signal.
On his way back to the hotel, water levels surged and he sought shelter at a souvenir shop before being rescued by a Thai man named Viriya.
Mr Toh stayed at Mr Viriya's home for two nights, eating porridge and instant noodles for meals, which he later realised was far better than what his relatives had.
Eventually, a charity worker came by in a boat to give out food to the flood victims, and he asked the worker to give him a ride back to his hotel.
Mdm Chan said she was torn between hope and despair when her husband went missing, wondering whether he was alive or dead.
"At first I couldn't sleep, not knowing where he was. But I forced myself to," she said, adding that everyone in the hotel was excited for her when he returned.
Despite the lack of food, Mdm Chan said the tourists in the hotel did not fight over the resources, but shared what they had with each other.
Mdm Tan Lian Hua, 70, said it was difficult to tell whether it was night or day because it was dark in the hotel. "We just slept, drank water and ate snacks," she said.
The hotel gave them some biscuits and milk powder, but there was no hot water to prepare the milk.
At some points, they were also given packets of food and instant noodles. Not all the food agreed with their stomach, and some of them had diarrhoea.
"We had to use the floodwater to flush the toilets," said Mdm Chan.
NINE-HOUR JOURNEY TO THE AIRPORT
When the waters receded slightly early Thursday morning, the group decided to try to make their way to the airport for their 1pm flight.
They left the hotel around 7am with some of their belongings and waded through hip-deep water to get to a nearby mall.
There, they hired an auto-rickshaw – also known as a tuktuk – which took them to an army camp that was full of travellers from different countries.
Mr Toh's group was told that the MFA would send two vehicles that could take all 10 of them to the Hat Yai airport, but only four of them managed to board the vehicles.
The remaining six got on an army vehicle that took them to the airport.
In a post on Facebook, the MFA said the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok is coordinating assistance on the ground.
"It has located and transported 34 Singaporeans from flood-affected areas directly to Hat Yai International Airport since Nov 27," the post said. "It will continue to deploy vehicles to support ongoing evacuation efforts."
By the time Mr Toh's group reached the airport, it was around 4pm. It had taken them nine hours to get to there, when the journey would normally take under an hour.
But their ordeal was not over as there were no flights out.
"They (had) to sleep on the airport floor on cardboard yesterday night, it’s really tough for the elderly," said Roy Toh, Mdm Chan and Mr Ronnie Toh's son.
They initially booked the 11pm Friday night flight.
"Later on, we heard the news that MFA has actually requested Scoot to reinstate the afternoon flight, which is flying off at 1pm. It was cancelled, then they put it back," he said.
They decided to move to the earlier flight so they could return home earlier.
The Singapore Embassy in Bangkok said that as of 3pm, there were 90 available seats on the flight to Singapore departing at 11.10pm.
"Passengers who have later flight reservations with Scoot and wish to return earlier to Singapore from Hat Yai International Airport will be able to change their flight by contacting Scoot," the embassy said in a WhatsApp channel.
Asked if they still dare to travel after this experience, Mr Ronnie Toh and Mdm Chan said yes.
"I like some adventure," said Mr Toh, a former policeman.
"I didn't die this time, why wouldn't I dare to travel?" said Mdm Chan.
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