Panic broke out when a hospital was flooded after heavy monsoon rain in Indonesia,.

Patients were evacuated to the upper floors after the murky water seeped into the Kabelota Regional General Hospital in the Donggala Regency of Central Sulawesi on July 15.

The emergency room, radiology department, and VIP patient section were inundated with knee-deep floods.

Donggala Regional Disaster Management Agency officer Affandy said: 'The flood occurred after the area around the hospital was hit by heavy rain.'

Doctors and nurses rushed to bring dozens of patients to safety.

Hospital patient Riana said: 'They forced open the doors of some rooms which were submerged in the water. All the patients there were evacuated.'

The water slowly receded after a few hours, but left a thick layer of mud inside the building.

Indonesia and other countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand are in the middle of their tropical monsoon rainy season, which lasts until October or November.

Soaring temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius are often followed by powerful tropical storms with thunder, lightning, rain and flash floods.