FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows traffic blocked by vehicles parked on a road to escape floodwaters in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province, Thailand, November 30, 2025. - Reuters
BANGKOK: As at Dec 1, nine days after the massive flooding in Hatyai, water levels have continued to recede and the city has entered full recovery and clean-up mode.
Around 80 per cent of residents have now returned to their homes to assess the damage, while some remain in evacuation shelters arranged by the province.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered the urgent removal of damaged belongings and waste, setting a target that residents must be able to return home within seven days, and Hatyai must be fully cleaned within 14 days.
Reporters surveying the evacuation shelter at Prince of Songkla University noted that more than 10,000 evacuees had been staying there earlier.
As at Dec 1, some residents remain at the shelter, but many have begun returning home, as the centre will relocate evacuees on Dec 2 to the Ban Phru – Wat Thep Chum Num evacuation site.
On the morning of Dec 1, evacuees were seen having breakfast, some waiting for relatives to pick them up.
Many worried about where they would sleep once home, as their houses had not yet been cleaned. Some residents discovered they had no home left – only the frame remained.
A 79-year-old grandmother who must return home on Dec 2, told reporters that her house was destroyed, leaving only its structure.
She tearfully said: “I don’t even know how to keep fighting anymore. I’m old... this year was the worst. My house... only the frame is left.”
Hatyai was the hardest-hit district, affecting more than 226,000 households and 406,823 people.
The Songkhla Provincial Office reported significant progress in restoring damaged infrastructure:
Electricity: Over 176,000 accounts were affected; more than 90 per cent now restored.
Tap water: 60 per cent restored; clean water distribution under way in areas where production has not resumed.
Telecommunications: Around 85 per cent of all networks restored.
Agriculture: Tens of thousands of rai damaged.
Vehicles: More than 8,000 cars were submerged; the authorities are still surveying for compensation support. - The Nation/ANN
