Thai flood shelters struggle to meet needs of women and children

Environmental Justice

In southern Thailand’s flood shelters, women navigate gaps in basic services

Evacuation centres in Pattani and Yala provinces struggle to meet basic needs as severe flooding displaced families across Thailand’s Deep South. Evacuees describe inadequate provisions, particularly for women and children.

By Nasihah Maso

Published 1 December 2025
4 min read

Pattani and Yala – Ka’s children woke hungry at the evacuation centre, but breakfast wasn’t on offer. The 47-year-old single mother had no money that morning to buy food herself, so they waited until noon for the shelter’s first meal of the day.

“In the morning the children are hungry, but there’s no food,” said Ka, who asked to use a pseudonym. “Days when I have no money, we have to go without and wait until noon to eat from the centre.”

She’s one of more than 70 people sheltering at Municipal School 5 in Pattani province after severe flooding submerged homes across Thailand’s Deep South last week. Yala Municipality opened four evacuation centres on 23 November as heavy rains overwhelmed the predominantly Malay-Muslim region, forcing families to flee with whatever they could carry.

What many found were facilities stretched thin – concrete floors with thin mats, limited supplies, and challenges in meeting the specific needs of women and children during a crisis that escalated faster than expected.

Adapting to shelter realities

Nurwaida Late knew what to expect this year. The 15-year-old student at Municipal School 5 had learned from experience during last year’s floods.

“The first year I had no experience. My clothes were wet from wading through water to get here. The first night I had to sleep on a bare floor, no mat, nothing at all. Just one jacket,” she told HaRDstories. In the morning she went out to buy a mat herself.

This year she came prepared, bringing her own mat from home.

The shelters provide one mat per person, though mattresses aren’t available. Many families struggled to prepare because floodwaters rose at different speeds across the region. While some areas like Yala city saw gradual increases allowing time to gather belongings, communities in Thung Yang Daeng and Sai Buri districts faced sudden flash floods.

Rosanee Munlee, 39, a single mother of three, fled with nothing. “The water covered the house. I had to rush the children out first. I had nothing with me at all. No baby formula, no diapers. My income is lost because I can’t go out to work.”

Addressing needs of women and girls

Nurfadia Hayeeasa, 16, arrived at her first evacuation centre this year and quickly noticed gaps in provisions for women and girls.

“I knew immediately that the shelter still lacks many things, especially necessities for women, like sanitary pads,” she said. The mixed gender sleeping arrangements also concerned her. “I feel embarrassed and not very safe because I’m grown up now, but the sleeping area still doesn’t properly separate men and women.”

Ka mentioned similar concerns about nighttime security. “At night there are no staff on watch. There’s only a guard at the front gate outside. We have to look after ourselves.”

For elderly women like Che Samiyah Che-ama, 65, this year’s floods presented particular challenges. Her husband died in July, leaving her to manage evacuation decisions alone. “It’s like we have no pillar anymore,” she said. When water reached her knees, she quickly packed and left with her son and two grandchildren.

Thai government guidelines recommend proper sanitation zones, adequate bedding, and gender separation in emergency shelters, standards that prove difficult to implement fully during rapidly developing crises.

Watcharanit Wichitwechakarn, president of Yala Municipal Council, said the municipality was better prepared this year than last, with quicker evacuations of bedridden patients and vulnerable groups. Municipal School 3 arranged special space with round-the-clock staff supervision for those requiring close care, he said.

However, he acknowledged shortages remain. “There is still a shortage of mattresses and beds, which are insufficient for the number of residents,” Watcharanit said.

Addressing needs of women and girls

The flooding seems to reflect shifting climate patterns across southern Thailand. Sulaiman Chema, a local environmental activist, said rainfall this year exceeded 2023 records at multiple monitoring points in Pattani and Yala.

Somporn Chuay-aree, a lecturer with Prince of Songkla University’s Disaster Watch Team, told HaRDstories that some areas in Songkhla province recorded over 600 millimetres of rain in 48 hours, testing drainage systems designed for less extreme weather.

This year’s monsoon season has been heavier than usual across Southeast Asia, partly due to the La Niña climate phenomenon, which creates conditions for storms to form. The Thai Meteorological Department said a northeast monsoon combined with a low-pressure system in the Andaman Sea brought the intense rainfall to southern Thailand.

“Rain like this has never happened before,” Sulaiman said, describing how heavy downpours now arrive in intense clusters.

By 28 November, the weather system was moving into Tropical Storm Koto and rainfall began decreasing. Water levels in Songkhla Lake were slowly receding, though many areas still required pumping and families remained displaced.

This story is part of a collaborative reporting project between HaRDstories and Wartani, supported by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.