HAT YAI, Thailand — Largely forgotten by the public, politicians and the media, the flood crisis that Hat Yai, the largest city in the south of Thailand, experienced in November 2025 is far from over. The waters have receded, but the recovery has only just begun. That the flood occurred should not have come as a surprise. Hat Yai has experienced devastating floods before, particularly in 2000 and 2010. The south of Thailand experiences seasonal heavy rainfall events, but with this being a La Niña year, additionally heavy rainfall was widely predicted. This time the flood came in two waves, with three-day accumulated rainfall reaching 630 millimeters (nearly 25 inches). On the morning of Nov. 21, it appeared the worst was over. According to Khun Nit, a 70-year-old resident of the low-lying Khet 8 area of Hat Yai, the streets were flooded just below knee level, but this appeared to be the full extent of the flooding. He was out in the street in front of his house posing and taking photos with his wife standing in the water, all smiles. This level of flooding is not uncommon, and while certainly a major inconvenience, nothing out of the ordinary. By the early hours of Nov. 22, heavy rain had begun to fall again, and through to the next day the floodwaters rapidly rose. At the same time, the news coming from the local government was that everything would be fine. The nearby warning system of color-coded flags on a bridge…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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