Tha Sala Hospital is set to move almost 300 patients to other clinics after the hospital in Tha Sala district of Nakhon Si Thammarat was inundated by flash floods.
Hospital director Kitti Rattanasombat yesterday said staff were closely monitoring the flood situation in preparation for the relocation of 280 inpatients if flood waters, which stand at between 50-100 centimetres, continue to rise.
The rising water will affect the emergency power system at the hospital, he said, adding this year's flood situation was far worse than that of 2011.
Dr Kitti said the hospital was now able to provide about 90% of medical services for patients. However, people travelling to the hospital needed to board a boat.
The flash floods also forced villagers in a nearby community to evacuate to a safe place.
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) announced a train departing from Bangkok to Nakhon Sri Thammarat will stop at Thung Song station as railroad tracks further on were submerged under flood water.
Passengers will be transferred to two other express trains also headed to the southern province. The same practice will be applied to inbound railways to the city as well.
In Sichon district, two elderly women drowned in strong currents when a packed bus was swept off the road by a flash flood while heading from Surat Thani to Nakhon Sri Thammarat on Tuesday night.
The bus, carrying 52 passengers, ended up overturned in a roadside waterway in tambon Thungsai. Rescuers and soldiers struggled to help passengers reach safety, their efforts made difficult by the deep, fast flowing water that also covered the road.
They eventually moved 50 of the passengers to safety.
The other two -- Chan Khamkaeo, 68, and Mani Khamkaeo, 63 -- were reported as missing, Sichon police chief Chokdi Rakwatthanaphong said.
Their bodies were later found as the water receded yesterday morning, about 300 metres away near a care centre for the homeless.
Nakhon Sri Thammarat is among several southern provinces along the Gulf coast where flash-flood warnings have been issued as a strong monsoon hammers the region.
In the province's Lan Saka district, a flash flood also hit a resort late on Tuesday night, sending guests running for safety.
Rescuers had to wade through quickly rising flood water to help a Briton and his Thai wife who were trapped inside.
In the nearby province of Surat Thani, 56 families were evacuated from their homes in Moo 1 village in Don Sak district yesterday after it was hit by a torrent.
In Phatthalung, runoff from the Banthat mountain range also inundated a village in Tamot district, forcing residents to move their belongings to higher ground.
In Chumphon, the Asia 41 Road in Muang district was temporarily closed when it was flooded by 40cm of water.
In Samut Prakan, a high tide caused flooding in coastal Phra Samut Chedi and Phra Pradaeng districts, leading to severe traffic congestion along Suk Sawat Road yesterday morning.
A section of the road near Phra Samut Chedi-Phra Chulachomklao Fort Intersection looked more like a canal, with local people commenting the inundation was "unusually high" this year. Small vehicles were restricted to using only the right lane, which led to a 6-kilometre traffic snarl.
