A flood victim in Nopphitam district in Nakhon Si Thammarat says she was in jubilation when she heard the hum of helicopter rotors over the horizon while awaiting an airlift at the peak of a knoll, overlooking homes inundated by flood water and mud.
"I am speechless - all I can say is that I am still alive and have a chance to see my children again," said a tearful Saowakhon Jansri.
After being admitted into a relief shelter, she said the entire village in tambon Krung Ching was cut off and under heavy rain for seven days, but her children at the province's Walailak University had notified authorities of the incident and coordinated help and eventually the airlift.
The villagers relied on grass and vegetation to survive for the seven-day period after they were cut out from the outside world. The situation got even worse when mobile-phone signals died after the electricity went out, and land-line phones were also down.
She said it was the heaviest rain she had ever witnessed, and thunder struck frequently. "The constant loud noise of flash floods around the village was frightening, and kept everyone awake," she added.
The last floods struck homes built in lower-lying areas, before the villagers ran up to Saowakhon's home at the top of the hill to find their last high ground.
"They gathered at my home, about 60 of them, to wait for a day or two. We brought together dry food to cook and share, before we ran out of it and turned to vegetation.
"We are lucky that there was a mobile-phone tower nearby still capable of transmitting. We relied on this as the only communication channel to my children, who got help to us at last," she said.