Heavy Floods batter Thailand’s South

One fatality reported, as Songkhla’s Hat Yai district isolated by heavy flooding

HAT YAI, Nov 2 — Heavy rains from the tropical depression currently in the Gulf of Thailand have brought heavy flooding to Hat Yai in Songkhla province, the main commercial district in Thailand’s South.

The city is cut off, isolated from other parts of the region as rising floodwaters pour into the city, stalling all business and sending residents scrambling for assistance.

Hat Yai mayor Prai Pattano said floodwaters cover 80 per cent of the district, affecting more than 30,000 households, with an estimated 10,000 people stranded in the city centre, and the water keeps rising, with the waters in some areas reached car roofs and the second floor of commercial buildings.

He said the surrounding areas were also affected with no electricity and pipe water while all roads heading to the city centre were cut off by the flood.

One resident of Tha Kian community died from flood-related electrocution.

MCOT