Hat Yai continues to face severe flooding, with experts warning that the city's economic zone will remain submerged at least until mid-December.
Assoc Prof Seree Supratid, director of the Climate Change and Disaster Centre at Rangsit University and vice president of the National Disaster Warning Council Foundation, said on Tuesday that despite falling water levels upstream in Sadao district, downstream flows will increase before reaching the city, making the flooding worse.
"At 7am [on Tuesday], floodwaters had risen nearly two metres compared to [Monday]. Homes previously submerged by one metre are now completely underwater, while low-lying houses in areas such as Khuan Lang Municipality are submerged up to their rooftops," he said in a Facebook post.
He estimated that rainfall between Nov 21–25 reached about 850 millimetres. It could take roughly 10 days for water to recede, further delayed by high sea levels expected until the end of November.
Assoc Prof Seree criticised the lack of coordinated disaster management.
"People are stranded on rooftops, vehicles are submerged, and vulnerable groups are pleading for help, yet there is no central command structure," he said.
He urged immediate measures such as cutting road embankments to speed up drainage.
