The catastrophe in Hat Yai one of southern Thailand’s major urban centres reveals how climate-intensified rainfall and weak local preparedness can combine to produce mass casualties and widespread destruction. With at least 145 dead across the south and tens of thousands displaced, the disaster has become a major test of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s new government.
What happened:
Three days of relentless monsoon rains culminated in Hat Yai receiving 335 mm of rain in a single day, its highest recorded rainfall in over 300 years. Residents said warnings were unclear or absent as water from surrounding hills surged into low-lying urban plains. By dawn, streets were chest-deep in water and homes, shops and vehicles were submerged.
Local officials initially underestimated the severity of the situation. Hat Yai’s district chief and police chief were removed after the disaster, and the city’s mayor publicly apologised for misjudging the threat. The government has approved 4.75 billion baht in immediate assistance, but damage assessments continue to rise.
Human impact:
Entire neighbourhoods were left devastated. Many residents lost homes, belongings and access to clean water. More than 16,000 people are living in evacuation centres as receding waters reveal mud-choked streets, destroyed second floors of homes, damaged hospitals and schools, and abandoned vehicles. Some families survived only by collecting rainwater after supplies ran out.
The structural cause:
GISTDA’s early analysis found that Hat Yai’s plains could not absorb the massive runoff from the hills. Drainage systems and waterways were quickly overwhelmed, and new rainfall extremes linked to climate change pushed local infrastructure past its limits. More than 33,000 homes and hundreds of kilometres of roads have been affected.
What’s next:
Thailand faces urgent questions about preparedness ahead of future extreme weather events, which are projected to intensify under climate change. As investigations begin into local response failures, national authorities are under pressure to overhaul early warning systems, reinforce urban drainage capacity and boost climate adaptation spending. The political consequences could extend far beyond Hat Yai if public frustration deepens in the coming weeks.
With information from Reuters.
