Flood

Authorities in southern Thailand are bracing for a death toll to exceed 100 after devastating floods submerged the major commercial hub of Hat Yai, while political pressure mounts on the government to apologize for alleged failings in its disaster response.
As floodwaters receded across Hat Yai district and surrounding areas of Songkhla province, Police Lt. Gen. Trairong Phiewphan, Deputy Inspector General of the Royal Thai Police, revealed that a total of 104 deceased victims had been sent for identification as of 8:30 p.m. local time on November 27. The bodies originated from various hospitals and disaster zones in Songkhla and nearby areas.
The total figure of 104 victims supersedes the previous official count of 85. The Deputy Inspector General noted that a key priority is the distinction between bodies sent from hospitals and the 47 bodies recovered directly from the disaster zones by rescue workers. This latter group requires detailed forensic investigation to confirm whether the cause of death was pre-existing illness or directly caused by the floods.

Apocalyptic Scenes and Body Recovery Crisis
The severity of the disaster was highlighted by local officials and rescue teams on social media.
Songkhla Member of Parliament Saksit Khawthong of the opposition Democrat Party posted on Facebook, describing the scenes he witnessed over three days as “like ‘the end of the world.'” He reported widespread chaos, including “people fighting for food along the streets, evacuation centers… unmanaged, bodies floating in and being placed on the roadside, [and] screams of anguish echoing throughout the night.”
Rescue teams reported immense difficulty in managing the deceased. The San Kamphaeng Rescue Association from Chiang Mai stated they discovered a “large number of ‘black cases’ [dead bodies] on site — some stuffed in refrigerators, some floating inside houses, some tied to house pillars.” The association reported a critical shortage of body storage bags.
Desperate pleas for help also flooded social media. Facebook user Pook Sukonta Berthebaud posted a distress call for a friend in the Chok Saman neighborhood: “Five bodies have already floated past right in front of them. I don’t want my friend to become the sixth. My friend hasn’t eaten for six days. If there’s no food, then just come collect the body—if it comes to that. Seeing this breaks my heart.”

Official Count and Government Pressure
The official death toll for Songkhla province stands at 85 as of Thursday, according to Siripong Angkaskulkiat, a spokesperson for the Forward Flood Emergency Operations Center in Bangkok, citing data from Songklanagarind Hospital. That figure includes 55 confirmed flood-related deaths and 30 attributed to other causes.
Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Kittirat Phanphet has ordered the establishment of a Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) center in Hat Yai to handle the forensic identification of deceased victims, as centralized procedures for body collection and storage are implemented.
The crisis has intensified political fallout, with the opposition demanding a sincere apology from the government.
Pharadorn Prisnananthakul, the Minister attached to the Prime Minister’s Office and Director of the Forward Flood Emergency Operations Center, appeared visibly tense at a press conference and refused to answer questions regarding whether the government would acknowledge errors in assessing the situation. He offered only thanks before immediately leaving the briefing.
Opposition deputy secretary-general Linthipon Warinwatchararoj of the Pheu Thai Party swiftly condemned Pharadorn’s earlier statement that “don’t blame anyone — the people, government, and operational units are learning lessons together.”
Linthipon demanded that the government must first “clearly acknowledge mistakes in disaster management that caused widespread suffering and loss of life, issue a sincere apology, and only then extract lessons from the failures and deficient management.”.

Relief Measures and Aid
The government has approved 2 million baht (approximately $62,000 USD) in funeral expenses for each flood-related death, with initial relief funds scheduled for transfer on November 28.
The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society announced that support from SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service, secured despite criticism over delays, is expected to arrive in Thailand by Friday, November 28, to aid ongoing relief operations.