HAT YAI, THAILAND – A devastating flood in southern Thailand left a woman clinging to a floating refrigerator containing her drowned mother’s body in a desperate attempt to protect it from the raging waters.
Nighttime surge traps elderly woman and daughter
In The Rich Village housing area in Hat Yai, floodwaters rose dramatically overnight and trapped an 80-year-old woman and her daughter inside their home. The water reportedly reached up to the level of the roof gutter, leaving the older woman with no chance of escape.
“The water rose very high during the night. My mother could no longer hold on,”
said the desperate daughter to rescue workers.
Body placed in floating refrigerator
Acting under shock, the daughter placed her mother’s body in a refrigerator that was floating in about 1.8 meters of water. By doing so, she prevented the strong current from sweeping the body away, a heartbreaking decision made in a seemingly hopeless situation. Hours later, a rescue team discovered her still clinging to the refrigerator containing her dead mother.
Rescue workers shaken by the scene
A rescue worker from Phuket shared video footage of the scene, which deeply affected emergency personnel.
“It breaks my heart that we arrived too late. She drowned,”
said the rescue worker in his post. The images showed the completely distraught daughter standing in the floodwaters, a moment that witnesses said would not be easily forgotten.
Collapse after rescue
When rescuers finally brought the woman to dry land, she collapsed, overwhelmed by trauma and exhaustion. The emotional impact of the incident added to the strain already felt by rescue teams working around the clock in the flooded region. Many areas remained difficult or impossible to access due to the continuing high water.
Wave of sympathy and calls for help online
The story triggered a wave of sympathy on social media, where thousands of users offered condolences and words of comfort. At the same time, urgent appeals for help were posted by other residents who were still trapped in the floods and in need of assistance.
Millions affected by widespread flooding
Authorities reported that more than 2.78 million people were affected by the disaster in southern Thailand, with hundreds of thousands of homes under water. The scale of the catastrophe underscored how severely the region had been hit, as families across the area struggled with loss, displacement, and uncertainty.
Ongoing suffering and national mourning
While this particular tragedy reached its tragic conclusion, thousands of others continued to fight for survival as the floods persisted. Each family in the affected areas had its own harrowing story, and this case illustrated with particular force how merciless nature could be. Thailand mourned with the daughter who lost everything, yet still fought desperately to preserve her mother’s dignity.
Relief efforts and long road to recovery
Emergency services worked around the clock, but the challenges remained immense, with many regions still inaccessible. Donations and relief supplies were urgently needed as people in Hat Yai and other affected areas had lost nearly all their possessions. The flood disaster was expected to occupy Thailand for a long time, with cleanup operations likely to take weeks, if not months.