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SINGAPORE: What began as a self-drive holiday to Thailand turned into a harrowing ordeal for 74-year-old Ronnie Toh.

For the trip had coincided with some of the worst flooding to hit the country's south in years, with days of heavy rain inundating major roads, cutting power to neighbourhoods and disrupting water supply.

As the rain intensified and water levels rose in the city of Hat Yai, one of the declared disaster zones, Mr Ronnie got separated from his family and became uncontactable.

It happened when he left the hotel he was staying in, wading in knee-deep water to a shopping centre seven minutes' walk away to find a stronger mobile phone signal, Mr Ronnie's son, Vincent, told �鶹 over a phone interview on Tuesday (Nov 25).

Then the rain got heavier. 

“He found that things were getting a bit more different and the locals were getting more panicky at the complex,” said Mr Vincent, 50, who did not join his father for the holiday.

As floodwaters got above waist level, his father managed to keep in contact with his family through Facebook and asked if he should return to the hotel.

“We asked him to stay at the complex because it’s dangerous walking, he told us that the water looks like it was moving quite fast,” said Mr Vincent.

But, feeling worried due to the lack of food, water and familiar faces, his father decided to leave the shopping centre. As he made his way back towards the hotel, water levels surged, forcing him to climb onto a shelter at a souvenir shop.

“At this stage, it was more than one person’s height, maybe more than one-storey high,” said Mr Vincent about the water level.

By 5pm local time (6pm, Singapore time) that Monday, his father’s phone battery had gone flat and his family in Hat Yai and Singapore lost contact with him.

Describing the situation as "madness", Mr Vincent said: “It was getting dark, and we had no response from anyone. We didn’t know where he was.”

He said that he quickly asked his family and friends to contact the Thai police for assistance. Still, hours passed without any updates.

It was only around midnight when his family in Singapore received a call from a Thai number. It was his father informing them that he was safe.

The elder Toh later told his family that he had been rescued by a Thai man named Viriya, who let him stay with his family that night.

“As a family, they welcomed my dad, making sure he had food and a change of clothes,” Mr Vincent said.

“I think he’s a hero,” he added. 

Holding onto floating debris, Mr Viriya and the elder Toh had swum towards Mr Viriya’s house about 500m from the souvenir store. Mr Viriya supported Mr Ronnie through the currents.

“It was getting dark, he was cold, and without this local Thai guy’s help, I think my father would have been in a very terrible condition,” said Mr Vincent.

Returning to Singapore would have to wait, however. 

Mr Ronnie had booked flight tickets to get back home on Tuesday, after they found their car in Hat Yai submerged in water. They ended up missing their flight anyway, since there was no way for them to get to the airport.  

In any case, he was still staying with Mr Viriya on Tuesday evening and figuring out how to rejoin his group.

Like other tourists - there are reportedly 1,000 of them stranded in Hat Yai hotels and at the airport - their ordeal is far from over.

STRANDED WITH NO ELECTRICITY

Mr Ronnie’s niece, Ms Sharon Toh, 45, called the situation frustrating as the group who travelled with him are seniors and on medication.

Her parents are part of the group who travelled with Mr Ronnie. 

“They are supposed to be back today, so their medication will not last too many days already,” said the business manager, adding that her 69-year-old father has diabetes.

She added: “It’s not a very big hotel, so I think they have run out of resources. I think they are stuck.

“I don’t think there is much food already, except for just some dry supplies."

With the power cut off, her family could charge their phones only using a backup generator. However, to get a connection, they must climb from their third-floor room to the seventh floor, and even then, the signal is intermittent.

A short walk from where Mr Ronnie is staying, 69-year-old delivery driver Tan Chin Chye has been stuck at a hotel with six friends for three days now.

“The flood is very high, only six feet. We cannot go out,” Mr Tan said. 

With no power, visibility inside the hotel is extremely poor at night. He and his friends would switch their phones off to conserve battery.

He could only speak to �鶹 for five minutes for this interview.

“Now, we have no current. No food,” Mr Tan said. While food had been provided previously, none was available on Monday and Tuesday.

His daughter, Vivian Tan, 42, said that she saw a pot in the background during a video call with her father, and she guessed that they had to boil water to make it safe to drink. She expressed her concern as the group has not eaten anything substantial for two days.

“There is no communication on when they will get food,” Ms Tan, a marketing executive, said.

Mr Tan was due to fly home on Tuesday afternoon. He was still trying to find a boat to get to the airport when he spoke to �鶹 on Monday evening.

“We are all worried. We want to go to the airport,” Mr Tan said.

Ms Tan said she was worried for the group. “They really don’t know when they can get out of there,” she said.

RUNNING OUT OF FOOD

Ms Sharon Khoo is worried sick for her 74-year-old father, who is staying at another hotel in central Hat Yai. 

As he is on medication for diabetes, he requires timely meals in case his blood sugar drops.

He told her that he had to beg for eggs at the hotel on Saturday.

“He said that his hotel lobby was very chaotic,” the 48-year-old said, adding that crowds were rushing to grab what they could when the hotel first distributed food.

The hotel lobby flooded around midnight on Monday.  

“Then, I think increasingly, food became more difficult to come by,” said Ms Khoo, who was unsure if her father had eaten when she spoke to �鶹 on Tuesday.

Her father is in Hat Yai with a friend and is scheduled to fly back on Nov 27.

“Looking at the situation, if he’s going to be stranded for the next few days, so we are not sure,” Ms Khoo said.

The people whom �鶹 spoke to said they have already contacted Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for assistance.

MFA on Tuesday warned Singaporeans against travelling to Songkhla province, where Hat Yai is located, and other areas affected by flooding, noting that the flooding is expected to persist.

The ministry added that all 16 districts in Songkhla have been declared as disaster zones, with Hat Yai the hardest hit.

“Singaporeans in the affected areas are advised to exercise vigilance, monitor the situation and local news closely and heed the advice of the local authorities,” the ministry said.