Hat Yai’s floods are a warning for cities built against nature (analysis)

Hat Yai’s floods are a warning for cities built against nature (analysis)

Every year, Chinese New Year festivals in southern Thailand’s Hat Yai attract tourists, mostly from neighboring Malaysia, generating a significant proportion of annual income for a city dependent on tourism. But not this year. Three months after the November 2025 flood disaster, the new year is being celebrated with continuing cleaning, scrubbing mud from people’s homes and shops, and clearing away piles of water-damaged vehicles, furniture and …