GLOBAL – A devastating series of floods across Southeast Asia, triggered by what Thai officials have called “once in 300 years” rainfall, has killed scores of people, displaced tens of thousands, and submerged entire cities, offering a stark and urgent warning for nations vulnerable to extreme weather, including Kenya. The crisis, which intensified around Wednesday, 26 November 2025, underscores the growing impact of climate change and presents critical lessons on disaster management and urban resilience.

In southern Thailand, at least 13 people have been killed, with the crisis affecting an estimated 2.1 million residents across ten provinces. The commercial hub of Hat Yai in Songkhla province was declared a disaster zone after recording 335mm of rain on a single day, Friday, 21 November 2025, the highest in three centuries. The three-day accumulated rainfall reached 630mm, far surpassing the levels of the historic 2010 floods. In response, the Thai government placed the military in charge of the relief efforts, deploying the aircraft carrier HTMS Chakri Naruebet as a floating hospital and command centre, alongside a flotilla of boats and helicopters to deliver aid and evacuate stranded residents.

The deluge has also ravaged neighbouring countries. In Vietnam, the death toll from a week of floods and landslides has tragically risen to 91, with dozens more missing. The Vietnamese government reported that the disaster left 1.1 million households without power and caused an estimated $493 million in property damage. In Malaysia, more than 19,000 people have been forced from their homes into evacuation centres across eight states, prompting the government to mobilise a full-scale rescue operation in the worst-affected northern regions bordering Thailand.

A Climate Crisis Unfolding

Meteorologists and climate scientists attribute the extreme weather to a combination of a powerful monsoon trough and the La Niña climate pattern, which has intensified rainfall. This event is not an anomaly but part of a dangerous global trend. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) noted in its 2023 State of the Climate in Asia report that the continent is heating up faster than the global average and remains the world's most disaster-hit region from weather-related hazards. Such extreme events are becoming more frequent and severe due to the excess energy trapped in the atmosphere by human-induced greenhouse gases.

This phenomenon has a direct parallel to weather patterns affecting East Africa. Climate drivers like the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) create a see-saw effect across the ocean; a positive IOD phase, which is becoming more common with climate change, often brings warmer waters and heavier rainfall to East Africa while causing drier conditions in Southeast Asia. Conversely, a negative phase can lead to increased rainfall in Southeast Asia. This teleconnection means the same global climate shifts fuelling disasters in Asia are concurrently increasing flood and drought risks in Kenya.

Lessons for a Vulnerable Kenya

The unfolding catastrophe in Southeast Asia holds urgent and direct lessons for Kenya. The country's own recent history with devastating floods, such as those in early 2024, exposed significant weaknesses in disaster preparedness, urban planning, and early warning systems. Research has repeatedly shown that Kenyan cities like Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu are highly vulnerable to urban flooding due to inadequate drainage, unplanned settlements in flood-prone areas, and the degradation of natural water catchments.

The events in Hat Yai, a major commercial hub, also highlight potential economic vulnerabilities for Kenya. Disruptions to global supply chains from flooding in key manufacturing and agricultural regions in Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia could impact Kenyan consumers. According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, in 2023, Kenya's imports from Vietnam were valued at $59.5M, while trade data from the World Bank shows significant import links with Thailand and Malaysia. These supply chains, crucial for electronics, automotive parts, and other consumer goods, are at risk during such climate shocks.

Experts argue that Kenya must move from a reactive to a proactive, anticipatory model of disaster management. This requires investing in robust, multi-hazard early warning systems that are effectively communicated to at-risk communities. Furthermore, there is a critical need for enforcing better land-use planning, restoring degraded ecosystems like wetlands and forests to manage runoff, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure. The scale of the military-led response in Thailand, while born of necessity, underscores the importance of having well-defined, multi-agency response plans ready for rapid deployment before a crisis hits—a lesson Kenya must heed to protect its citizens and economy from the escalating impacts of our changing climate.