Heavy Rain Swamps Hat Yai in Under 20 Minutes
Hat Yai's Khlong Hua intersection flooded in under 20 minutes on July 9 after heavy rain, with residents blaming an electrical pole blocking the drainage canal and an incomplete infrastructure project for the recurring disaster.
Heavy Rain Swamps Hat Yai in Under 20 Minutes, Power Pole Blocks Drainage Canal, Residents Frustrated Over 9,000 Baht Relief. July 11—A Facebook video by user Wit Tong Thai captured sudden flooding at Khlong Hua intersection in Ban Pru municipality, Hat Yai district, Songkhla province, following heavy rain on the afternoon of July 9. Water surged rapidly into homes and shops.
Investigations revealed an incomplete drainage system under construction. The canal along the Asia Route toward Phatthalung was clogged with garbage and water hyacinth. Downstream before the railway overpass, an electrical pole stood directly in the drainage canal, which residents believe is a major obstruction preventing adequate water flow.
Vatcharasit Phinyodthananth, owner of Tong Thai Tour Company, revealed the flooding happened extremely fast. Rain fell for less than 20 minutes before water rushed into homes, leaving no time to save belongings. This recurring problem has plagued residents for nearly 20 years. Heavy rain and lack of canal dredging, combined with grass, branches, and garbage blocking pipe openings, cause the flooding.
When residents called Ban Pru municipality, they were told to manage garbage collection themselves. Despite multiple reports to authorities, nothing changed. Last year saw chest-high flooding. This year, after water damage rotted his home, he recently renovated. Now items he prepared for merit-making at nine temples for 500-600 people on July 19 were damaged by flooding. He questioned whether the 9,000 baht relief compensation justifies repeated damage.
Shop owners in the area unanimously blame the incomplete drainage pipe project for worsening floods. Heavy rain now causes flooding in less than 30 minutes. Before the project, water would recede quickly after rain stopped. Now drainage is much slower, affecting business.
