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Severe flooding in Songkhla Province, southern Thailand, has prompted the host nation of the SEA Games 33 to implement emergency measures, relocating 10 sporting events to Bangkok and Chonburi.

Floods in Hat Yai, the biggest city in Songkhla, Thailand, November 2025. Image courtesy of AFP

Songkhla, one of the three venues for the tournament together with Bangkok and Chonburi, was initially planned to organize 10 sports, including Group B men’s football, petanque, wrestling, and martial arts like muay Thai, pencak silat, chess, judo, kabaddi, karate, and wushu, offering a total of 109 gold medals.

Nevertheless, all 16 districts within the province are currently in a disaster situation, with ongoing heavy rainfall leading to extensive flooding, drowning numerous residential zones, and endangering the safety of local residents.

Starting from Monday, the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) has implemented a backup strategy to relocate the events to different areas.

The choice to relocate was made following a meeting on Wednesday between the vice president of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand and the CEO of the SEA Games 33 Organizing Committee, Chaiphak Siriwat, and the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Atthakorn Sirilathayakorn,Daily News reported.

Officials from the countries involved in the meeting voiced worries that Thailand’s infrastructure had been damaged by the floods, and that the host nation might not be able to repair it in time.

Furthermore, once the water recedes, there is a possibility of epidemic outbreaks, which could impact the athletes, they mentioned.

Siriwat will bring up this matter during the meeting of the SEA Games Organizing Committee on Thursday and will formally inform the Olympic Committees of the nations on November 28.

The sports’ regulatory authorities have been requested to develop new facilities while keeping the same tournament timetable.

The men’s football tournament’s Group B has been rescheduled to take place at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok, overlapping with Group A. The initial game between Vietnam and Laos is set to be moved forward to December 3, alongside Thailand’s game against Timor Leste.

As the host nation, Thailand is evaluating compensation for the visiting countries, following some teams who have already reserved flights and accommodations in Songkhla.

Southern Thailand, including Songkhla, often experiences flooding during the rainy season, which runs from October to March next year, leading to numerous evacuations annually.

Nevertheless, the circumstances this year have turned very severe. Hat Yai, the biggest city in Songkhla, has experienced its most significant flooding in 300 years.