Mass Evacuation Ordered as Worst Flood in 25 Years Grips Hat Yai
SONGKHLA, Nov 24 (TNA) - Authorities have ordered the immediate evacuation of residents in Thailand's southern commercial hub of Hat Yai, with officials warning the crisis is expected to worsen significantly over the next 24 hours as a massive new surge of floodwater arrives.
The Governor of Songkhla province has instructed all residents in submerged parts of Hat Yai Municipality to move to designated evacuation centers immediately. The city is currently battling what is being called the heaviest flood in 25 years, surpassing the major deluge recorded in the same period (November 21-25) in 2000. Massive volumes of water from two neighboring districts have combined with the initial flow from a mountain, transforming the entire city into a high-risk area. The Hat Yai Municipality and surrounding vicinities remain the hardest-hit zone, with water levels forecast to surge by over one meter.
Disaster relief teams are struggling with conditions, with more than 10 submerged cargo trucks visible on the main road leading out of Hat Yai toward Pattani province. Rescue workers from the Ruamkatanyu Foundation successfully extracted a truck driver trapped in his vehicle this afternoon. However, the crisis continues: dozens more vehicles—including sedans and pickups—are completely underwater. These submerged vehicles are hindering rescue efforts as staff are finding it difficult to navigate flat-bottomed boats and jet skis in community areas due to the unseen submerged vehicles, which pose a collision risk. A foundation staff member reported that many residents in communities flanking this major road remain trapped inside their homes.
The scale of the crisis is also impacting tourism. Dr. Sitthipong Sitthiphatprapha, President of the Hat Yai-Songkhla Hotel Association, confirmed that approximately 10,000 Malaysian and Singaporean tourists were in the city before the floods hit. While the association has successfully helped around 8,000 tourists relocate to hotels on higher ground outside the city center, an estimated 1,000 tourists remain stranded in hotels within the flood-impacted municipal area. - 819 (TNA)
