Once the busiest in Hat Yai, with more than 500 stalls, Kim Yong Market today stands in disarray following seven consecutive days of flooding.
Its entire first (ground) floor showed clear evidence of inundation and has been severely damaged.
Vendors were seen returning to their stalls to clean up and inspect what remained of their merchandise.
The market, which opened several decades ago and has long been crowded with shoppers, is a must-see for visitors to Hat Yai and a popular place to buy local souvenirs, dried fruits and imported products from Malaysia and China.
Today, however, piles of debris, broken fixtures and discarded goods stretched along the market’s alleys as traders cleared out their ruined stock.
Large quantities of dried fruits, nuts, snacks and Hat Yai souvenirs have been destroyed, after traders were unable to move them to higher ground in time.
Shelving units and equipment were also rendered unusable.
Inside the building, the market remained dark, with no electricity or running water. Vendors relied on candles and flashlights, as they made their way through the interior to check their belongings.
A clothing stall owner described this year’s flooding as the worst he has seen, with water rising all the way up to the first-floor ceiling. Every stall on the first floor, he said, had suffered total loss and the overall damage is still impossible to estimate.
