Waves of rain have caused deadly flooding in southern Thailand.
More than 800 Singaporeans have safely returned from flood-stricken Hat Yai in Thailand to Singapore.
In a Facebook post on Monday (Dec 1), Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that a total of 822 Singaporeans who had e-registered with or reached out to the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) have safely returned.
He praised the dedication of MFA’s consular response teams that “worked tirelessly on the ground to reach Singaporeans and help bring them home”.
Dr Balakrishnan also thanked the Thai government, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, as well as non-governmental organisations and volunteers whose swift support enabled MFA to assist Singaporeans effectively.
He also expressed his gratitude to the Malaysian government, which helped receive Singaporeans where possible and provided timely support during the evacuation efforts.
“As Thailand moves into the recovery phase, I hope families and communities affected by the floods will soon be able to rebuild and find stability again,” Dr Balakrishnan said.
MFA previously said on Nov 28 that 608 out of 893 Singaporeans in Hat Yai who e-registered with or reached out to MFA were either at the city’s airport or had already departed for Singapore.
At the time, MFA said the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok was coordinating assistance on the ground and remained in close contact with the Thai authorities.
In that update, MFA also said that it had located and transported 34 Singaporeans from flood-affected areas directly to Hat Yai International Airport since Nov 27.
In the Nov 28 Facebook post, MFA added it would continue to deploy vehicles to support ongoing evacuation efforts.
