Following a series of flash floods much of Thailand's south is declared a disaster zone. Photos by Weerawong Wongpreedee and Matee Muangkaew.
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Floods caused by a depression in the Gulf of Thailand wreaking havoc in the southern provinces of Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phattalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat, Krabi and Satun. Hai Yai in Songkhla, Patthalung, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani were forced to declare many areas flood disaster zones, including the tourist islands of Samui and Phangan in Surat Thani province. Photo credit: Reuters
Hat Yai Municipality in Songkhla province is one of hardest hit areas. Hat Yai Mayor Prai Pattano declared the inundated town a "Red Flag Zone" on Monday. People are stockpiling dried food and taking their belongings, including cars, to higher ground.
Early warning can still be too late as it takes only a few hours for flash floods to inundate a whole municipality. The flood level at Prince of Songkla University Hospital reached 3 metres on Monday.
Hat Yai Municipality is no stranger to serious floods. The city was hit by a flash flood in 2000. Hat Yai Mayor Prai Pattano says he expects the current flooding to be far more severe.
Many schools in Hat Yai have been closed since Monday. Mobile phones are failing as people try to get flood updates. Many bank branches are closed.
Many parts of Hai Yai are under 2-3 metres of water. Three hospitals have evacuated their patients.
Though the flood is looking worse than the one a decade ago, Hat Yai Mayor Prai Pattano says no one expected the situation would be so critical. "Therefore there was no evacuation of residents or tourists." Only residents in Pattani province have been evacuated to temporary shelter in mosques.
The depression in the Gulf of Thailand is unusually strong. Even Trang province is inundated with water as high as 30-50cm. The province is normally spared serious flooding because of dense forests that contain water from downpours.
