HAT YAI, Thailand – Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul visited flood-affected areas in Hat Yai District, Songkhla Province, on the evening of November 22, 2025, to assess the flooding situation and provide direct assistance to affected residents. He was accompanied by Interior Permanent Secretary Ansit Samphantharat, Songkhla Governor Ratthasart Chidchoo, provincial executives, heads of government agencies, and representatives from local administrative organizations.
Upon arriving at the Rong Poon Intersection, where large numbers of residents had gathered to receive aid, the Prime Minister stepped down from a DDPM high-clearance vehicle and offered words of comfort and encouragement to the public. Many residents approached him requesting food and drinking water, noting that electricity and water services had been cut and that most shops in the city remained closed. Others sought assistance in evacuating elderly family members and bedridden patients still stranded in their homes. The Prime Minister instructed the provincial governor to coordinate with all relevant agencies without delay to ensure immediate support.
The Prime Minister later boarded a flat-bottom boat to distribute relief packages directly to affected communities. A total of 1,600 survival kits were delivered, comprising 700 sets from Songkhla Province, 500 sets from the Songkhla Provincial Administrative Organization, and 900 sets from other supporting agencies.
Songkhla Province has been hit by continuous heavy rainfall from November 19-22, 2025, resulting in widespread flooding across 16 districts, 70 subdistricts, and 395 villages, affecting 28,940 households—or 77,374 residents—with no reports of injuries or fatalities. Disaster zones have been declared in 10 districts. Authorities have also placed 13 subdistricts in Hat Yai under heightened surveillance and issued a “Red Flag” evacuation warning for 103 communities.
To mitigate the flooding, the province has deployed 80 emergency water pumps across 68 critical locations. Flat-bottom boats, high-clearance vehicles, and military personnel are assisting evacuation and transport operations alongside district officials, civil defense volunteers, police, and local volunteers who are helping residents and managing traffic in inundated areas.
Hat Yai City Municipality has opened two evacuation centers—Municipal School 1 (Ang Siang Samakkhi), with a capacity for 100 people, and Municipal School 4 (Wat Khlong Rian), with a capacity for 50 people. Both centers are providing food, drinking water, essential supplies, and survival kits to elderly residents, bedridden patients, and other vulnerable groups to ensure timely and comprehensive support. (NNT)
