PLAINS COULD NOT ABSORB INFLOW
Hat Yai and nearby areas received 630 mm of rain over three days last week, with water rolling down surrounding hills to flood densely-populated low-lying plains unable to absorb the inflow.
“This relentless influx of water overwhelmed the city’s waterways and drainage systems,” Thailand’s Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) said in a note, adding that the floods swelled quickly.
Now, receding waters have made a muddy mess of the city of low-rise buildings, lively street restaurants and shopping areas favoured by tourists from neighbouring Malaysia.
Lines of cars, parked in a bid to escape floodwaters, stood stalled on a wide street on Friday.
Bright blue drums spilled out of a warehouse in a commercial area, blocking a lane. Elsewhere, people cleared mud and debris from homes that had been inundated.
More than 16,000 people have been moved to 16 evacuation centres in the district of Hat Yai, authorities said, as the government approved funds of 4.75 billion baht (US$148 million) to assist flood victims across the province.
Source: CNA
