A Malaysian citizen residing in Thailand described the post-disaster situation in Hatyai as reminiscent of scenes following a tsunami.
“The city of Hatyai in Thailand is currently silent, many shops remain closed, and residents' houses are still full of mud.”
38-year-old Ahmad Khusairi described the aftermath in Hatyai as if a tsunami had occurred.
In an interview with Metro Daily, he said he was shocked when he returned to his home there just yesterday, seeing traces of mud everywhere and some items downstairs flooded.
“When it happened I had returned to Malaysia, but my wife stayed in Hatyai. She could only take shelter on the upper floor of our two-storey house.
“The whole lower floor was submerged; the floodwaters were only two steps away from the upper floor. At the time, my wife could only pray for the flood to subside quickly.”
Ahmad said that on his way home from Malaysia, he saw many vehicles, especially Malaysian ones, still stranded in Thailand due to being submerged.
He added that some vehicles had even been swept away about a kilometer by the rushing waters, and some ended up near his house.
“I can't describe the situation right now; it looks just like the aftermath of a tsunami.”
“Yesterday, when I went to clean the house, I found that one of my cars was damaged by the flooding, and my motorcycles were covered in mud. I have to clean up the house first, and then go clean up my restaurant nearby.”
Ahmad said that as of yesterday, there were still Malaysian volunteers in Hatyai helping out, providing food and medical aid to Malaysians who were still staying in local hotels for work duties.
He said he was unable to estimate the losses caused by the flood to his house, vehicles, and restaurant.
He added that if he wanted to resume the restaurant business, it would probably take a long time to restart, as much of the equipment was already damaged.
“Now it is possible to visit Hatyai city, but there is not much worth seeing at the moment, because everything has been damaged by the flood.”