Flooding occurred in large areas of central and southern Thailand after many days of continuous rain, causing river water to rise and forcing authorities to release floodwaters from hydroelectric dams.
Hat Yai, a major city in Thailand's Songkhla province, which regularly welcomes Malaysian tourists, was declared a disaster zone amid a warning on November 24 that flooding is not yet at its peak.
Floods lasted for many days, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate, disrupting road and railway traffic, and losing power due to floodwaters entering the city center.
This is the worst thing weve ever been through, said Choom, a Airbnb owner in Hat Yai.
As floodwaters rose dangerously on November 24, the governor of Songkhla province ordered the evacuation of the entire Hat Yai district - an area with hundreds of thousands of people. Thai military's flat bottom ships were deployed to rescue those trapped on the roofs, some of whom were stranded for nearly 24 hours.
Further south, near the Thailand - Malaysia border, videos circulating on social media show flash floods sweeping away homes in Yala and overflowing onto the roofs of homes in some areas of Pattani province as rescue forces are working to get the elderly, children and the disabled safely onto boats.
Meteorologists warn that this year, La Nina - a climate phenomenon that leads to higher than normal rainfall in Southeast Asia - is at risk of causing serious flooding in the region.
In central Thailand, many districts have recorded flooding in the past four months, as spillways have been opened to protect Bangkok. Some towers in Ayutthaya's ancient temples were almost submerged in water, severely affecting the city's tourism.
Central Vietnam has also been continuously devastated by storms in October and is currently also heavily affected by the new flood. Many weather-related disasters have also affected Vietnam from January to October.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan called on Malaysians to cancel their year-end plans to flooded areas in Thailand and Vietnam.
Malaysia is also facing a risk of flooding. Rescue forces in Malaysia have evacuated more than 14,000 people across nine states due to continuous flooding since November 23 that led to landslides, leaving thousands of homes submerged in floodwaters. Kelantan state in northeastern Malaysia, bordering Thailand, was the hardest hit, with nearly 9,700 people seeking temporary shelter as of the afternoon of November 24.
At least one flight to Sultan Ismail Petra Airport in the capital Kota Baru state Kelantan had to be delayed on the night of November 23 due to bad weather conditions. Videos shared on social media showed floodwaters rising along the runway and roads leading to the airport.
The Malaysian weather forecast agency warned that thunderstorms and "very heavy rain" are expected to last until November 26, especially in the northern districts of Kelantan state and Perlis state, which border the western border of Malaysia - Thailand.
Further south, in Selangor, the richest and least industrialized state in Malaysia, flash floods on November 24 caused traffic congestion on major highways, which are an important artery for the country's exports.
