HAT YAI — Thai authorities evacuated more than 400 tourists from flooded hotels in Hat Yai on Sunday as heavy rains continued to swamp parts of Songkhla Province, officials said.
Tourism and Sports Minister Sudawan Wangsuphakijkosol said on November 24 that agencies worked with embassies, hotel operators and local officials to locate stranded visitors and move them to safety. The Royal Irrigation Department deployed large trucks to ferry both foreign and Thai tourists from inundated areas to temporary shelters, she said, adding that food and water supplies were being provided.
Sudawan also voiced concern about preparations for the SEA Games, which Thailand is set to host December 9–20. Songkhla is one of three host provinces, and flooding has affected the planned Muay Thai venue. Backup sites in the province have been readied, and other sports can resume once waters recede, she said.
Authorities said 402 tourists from 17 hotels were transported to Hat Yai Municipality shelters on Sunday, with some taken onward to the city’s bus terminal. Malaysian visitors were escorted to the Sadao border checkpoint to catch buses home.
Officials have updated the Singapore Embassy, the Malaysian Consulate and the Indonesian Consulate on the situation and ongoing relief efforts.
Travel platform Agoda reported in July that Hat Yai has continued to rise in popularity as a tourist destination during the first half of 2025, particularly among visitors from Malaysia and Singapore. The city ranked among the top three best-value destinations in Asia for the second consecutive year.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Somporn Chuayaree of Prince of Songkla University’s Pattani Campus, an expert on southern weather and natural disasters, told BBC Thai that this year’s severe flooding in Hat Yai was primarily caused by unusually intense rainfall along a rain trough that passed directly over the district.
He explained that the heaviest downpours struck Khao Kho Hong, a mountain area on the eastern side of Hat Yai that is not part of the drainage route toward Songkhla Lake. As a result, large volumes of rainwater flowed straight into Hat Yai’s urban area along the mountain’s steep slopes. Combined with heavy rain that also fell directly on the city, this created the critical flooding levels seen this time.
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