Relentless monsoon rains have triggered the most devastating floods southern Thailand has seen in generations. Nine provinces are underwater, 33 people are confirmed dead, and entire cities look like lakes.
Hat Yai: Commercial Hub Turned Ghost Town
Songkhla’s Hat Yai district recorded its heaviest single-day rainfall in over 300 years. Streets became rivers. Cars vanished beneath brown water. Thousands fled to rooftops.
Hat Yai Hospital is fighting for survival:
- Ground floor flooded
- Power supply under threat
- Military helicopters airlifting babies and critical patients
South on Red Alert
Warnings are now flashing for Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat. Rivers have burst banks, swallowing markets and homes. Sandbags line shop doors, but water keeps rising.
Schools in 12 provinces are shut indefinitely. Half a million children are at immediate risk of disease, injury, or separation from families.
Massive Rescue Underway
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul declared an emergency. The navy sent aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet. Helicopters, boats, and amphibious trucks are racing against the flood.
Rescue teams tie ropes between buildings to deliver food baskets to families trapped upstairs.
Economic Hammer Blow
- Tourism season destroyed
- Trains cancelled, airports cut off
- Daily losses estimated at 1.5 billion baht ($43 million)
Over 400 tourists were evacuated from Hat Yai hotels; thousands more remain stuck.
The rain hasn’t stopped. The water isn’t dropping. Southern Thailand is living its worst natural disaster in living memory and the crisis is still growing.
