What began as a self-drive holiday to Thailand turned into a harrowing ordeal for 74-year-old Singaporean Ronnie Toh.
Advertisement
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, 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, Ronnie’s son, Vincent, said over a phone interview on Tuesday.
Then the rain got heavier.
Advertisement
“He found that things were getting a bit more different and the locals were getting more panicky at the complex,” said 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 social media and asked if he should return to the hotel.