Hat Yai trying to defend city centre from flood disaster
PUBLISHED : 29 Nov 2024 at 12:41
Malaysia has urged its citizens to avoid travelling to southern Thailand as the border region battles floods and downpours that have killed at least two people.
Ahman Fahmi Ahman Sarkawi, the Malaysian Consul General in Songkhla, on Thursday urged Malaysians to defer plans to visit Thailand and take caution during their stay in the kingdom, according to Bernama.
“Continuous heavy rain over the past few days has led to severe flooding, forcing the evacuation of thousands across southern provinces in Thailand,” the Malaysian news agency quoted him as saying in the statement.
Malaysians are second only to the Chinese in the number of visitors to Thailand. This year, 4.1 million Malaysians visited the country, while 5.7 million travellers from China came to the kingdom, according to data from January to October provided by the Tourism and Sports Ministry.
The Songkhla Tourism Promotion Association has acknowledged the tourism damage from severe flooding in Thailand, which has kept Malaysian visitors at home.
Hat Yai district is one of the favourite destinations for Malaysians, along with Sungai Kolok, a border city in Narathiwat, and Bangkok.
Hat Yai is defending its business centre from flooding that has put all districts in Songkhla under disaster zones. Other affected provinces include Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani.
An aerial view of flood-hit Hat Yai district of Songkhla province on Friday. (Photo: Government Public Relations Department)
The municipality has been deploying more pumps to drain water and installing sandbags to protect the city centre from rising floodwater overflowing from the canals that have already inundated several locations in Hat Yai.
Officials have put up red flags at all areas as a warning sign of imminent floods.
They urged residents to move belongings and vehicles to high ground amid concerns about the rising water level in the canals but hoped the central area would be saved.
“I am confident that our business area will not be flooded,” Hat Yai mayor Pol Maj Gen Sakhon Thongmunee said on Friday.
The Meteorological Department warned on Friday of continued heavy rain in the southern provinces along the Gulf of Thailand until Saturday.
At least two people have been confirmed dead due to the southern floods, which have affected 240,000 households, according to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.