Little-known Malaysian volunteer firefighters among flood rescuers in Thailand

Members of the Malaysian volunteer fire associations posing in the flooded streets of Hat Yai in November 2025. - Photo courtesy of Raymond Leong

KUALA LUMPUR: When Tropical Cyclone Senyar hit part of South-East Asia on Nov 21, 2025, it dumped the heaviest rain that Thailand’s Hat Yai had seen in the last 300 years.

The resulting flood rose up to the second floor, trapping a Malaysian family of 15 inside a four-storey hotel, including an 80-year-old woman and a six-year-old girl.