Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Cabinet members visited the Khlong Rian flood-retention reservoir in Hat Yai, Songkhla province, on September 1 to review the city’s flood-management plans. Deputy Prime Minister Songsak Thongsri joined the visit, during which Hat Yai Mayor Narongporn Na Phatthalung detailed measures to retain and slow incoming water before accelerating drainage from densely populated communities and key economic areas.

Hat Yai City Municipality plans to expand the Khlong Rian retention basin’s capacity from about 530,000 to 780,000 cubic meters, adding 250,000 cubic meters of storage. The municipality has requested 75 million baht for the improvements, which would allow the basin to hold more runoff during heavy rainfall and reduce the amount of water flowing into urban areas.

Plans also call for increasing Khlong Toei’s drainage capacity from 160 to 250 cubic meters per second under the first phase of an improvement project. Pumping capacity at the downstream end of the canal would rise by about 44%, from 63 to 91 cubic meters per second, allowing water to be removed more quickly and reducing prolonged waterlogging and flooding.

The measures will cover all 103 communities in Hat Yai City Municipality, including densely populated neighborhoods, commercial districts, infrastructure, and transportation networks. The government, Songkhla Province, the municipality, and relevant agencies are coordinating water retention, drainage, and pumping operations to improve flood preparedness and protect Hat Yai, a major economic and transportation center in southern Thailand.