28 displaced thousands. These massive climatic events meant to occur more frequently, unhinge
the normal course of activities on the middle term and can foster new type of vulnerabilities and increase the existing one, if adaptation initiatives are not developed.
Every one to two years, Udon Thani is issuing tropical storm warning, which originates over South China Sea during the months of May to October see Table 1. Cyclones in the area
trigger wind comprised between 63kmh and 118 kmh and high levels of rainfall. Large- scale industries of the region include sugar mills are affected. Between January and July 2009,
2 tropical storms were reported by the Department of Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation DDPM of Udon Thani. 1,404 people and an overall of 434 households have been affected,
leading to an economic loss of 4,236,290 Bahts.
4.3 Hat Yai
Population :
53,638 Economy
: Trade,
tourism Role in the province
: Commercial and Tourism Center Major Climate hazards
: Flash floods; Droughts; Water shortage; Pollution during floods; Slope destabilization
4.3.1 Location
Located 50 kilometers from the Malaysian border at longitude 100° 23 55 E and latitude 06° 55 46 N, 92 feet 28 m above sea level, Hat Yai Municipality is the second most important
city of Songkhla Province, forming the urban corridor known as the Greater Hat Yai- Songkhla Metropolitan Area. It has become a very popular tourist centre for Malaysian and
Singaporean visitors.
Songkhla Province shares its western boundary with Satun Province; Phatthalung lies north; Pattani and Yala south. Hat Yai Municipality is low-lying, sitting at the base of a roughly
circular valley. Located in the downstream area of the Khong U-Taphao Basin, the Utaphao River flows through the heart of the city, often in concrete channels that provide limited
drainage. The Utaphao River rises at Sadao, on the border with Malaysia and flows to Songkhla lake, a coastal lagoon just downstream of Hat Yai that is hydraulically connected to
the Gulf of Thailand.
29
Figure 4.7. Map of Hat Yai district Source: GISTDA
4.3.2 Resources
As the centre of commercial trade and administration in Southern Thailand, Hat Yai is a bustling modern city, which concentrates increasing commercial and touristic activities. The
city is also a major transportation hub with an international airport located in the suburbs of the city and other inner city transportation facilities as its geographical location makes it a
gateway to the major neighboring countries of Malaysia and Singapore, and is thus a city with high tourism potential for domestic and foreign tourists who visit year-round.
4.3.3 Climate
Hat Yai benefits from an equatorial climate. Temperatures range from 17 °C to 39°C over the
year, with a daily average of 26.8 °C. The number of rainy days per month in a year is 161.2
with an annual rainfall amount of 2 meters, with a peak during the months of May 161.7mm in a month and November 318.1mm.
Hat Yai only has two seasons; wet and dry. The wet season, influenced by monsoon and rainstorms, starts in May and ends in the month of December. Usually in November, heavy
rainfall beat down on the city with sometimes twenty-two days of continuous rain leading to more than 500 mm of precipitation. The dry season lasts four months, January to April with
average highest temperature of 33
°C.
30 The monthly mean data of maximum temperature Tmax and minimum temperature Tmin
obtained from Thai Met Department is shown in Figure 4.8. Similarly the normal monthly total rain obtained from 29 years 1980 to 2009 is shown in Figure 4.9. As seen from these
figures the hottest month is April and the coldest month is January and is slightly similar to the condition over Phuket as shown in Figure 4.11. But with respect to normal rainfall the
pattern is slightly different over Phuket with peak rainfall varies from September to December Figure 4.9 with highest in the month of November. Another peak is in the month
of May.
Figure 4.8. Normal monthly mean temperature over Hat Yai from 1980 to 2008 Source:
Thailand Meteorological Dept.
Figure 4.9. Monthly normal rainfall over Hat Yai mm from 1980 to 2008 Source: Thailand
Meteorological Dept.
31
4.3.4 Climate hazard and extreme events
