A sudden flash flood recently occurred at Mae Sa Waterfall in Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai, Thailand, with torrents of water suddenly streaming down from upstream, catching tourists taking photos and playing in the waterfall area off guard. The scene lapsed into chaos for a while. Fortunately, tourists evacuated in time following warning whistle blasts from staff, and no one was injured.
According to Thai media reports, a Facebook user named Arttie Martin uploaded a video of the incident, capturing footage of the sudden event.
The incident occurred at around 3:30 p.m. on August 15. At the time, the tourist posting the video was visiting Mae Sa Waterfall with friends and was preparing to take photos near the falls. As they were about to remove their shoes to enter the water, they suddenly heard a staff member blowing a whistle in warning.
Because the floodwaters came so suddenly and fiercely, some tourists were knocked down or swept away from their original positions by the fast current. Other tourists at the scene immediately reached out to help, pulling them back to safer ground.
Fortunately, with staff and tourists helping each other, everyone at the scene successfully evacuated the water area, and no one was injured or killed.
Especially during the rainy season, even if the weather is clear at your location, strong rain may suddenly occur upstream and trigger a flash flood. If tourists notice the water flow suddenly becoming swift, the water level rising rapidly, or hear warnings from staff, they should immediately leave the river and waterfall areas and move to a safe location.