Four provinces in the lower North remain inundated

Four provinces in the lower North remain inundated
The Nation


Army bomb-disposal personnel check boats docked by a pier in Sukhothai province. Prime Minister

Prayuth Chan-ocha later used one of the boats to inspect flooding and hand out relief supplies.

BANGKOK: -- Over 19,000 people affected; Prayuth wants to find a long-term solution

Four provinces in the lower North remained flooded, while the situation in 25 others has improved, according to a daily update released yesterday.

To date, 12 people have drowned in the floods and many more have been displaced - 19,374 households in 826 villages in 29 provinces, according to Chatchai Phromelert, director-general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

Sukhothai, Nakhon Sawan, Phichit and Phitsanulok are still inundated, with 263 villages in 13 districts affected, Chatchai said.

The situation would be better, he said, if there was no more heavy rain in provinces north of these four, he added.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha had earlier given different details on the flood situation, saying after making an inspection visit to Sukhothai that there were five provinces still under water, out of the 27 provinces previously.

An update from Phichit said that 33 villages in Sam Ngarm and Pho Prathab Chang districts were still flooded.

Meanwhile, 2,005 people from 545 homes in Bang Rakam in neighbouring Phitsanulok were affected, with 11 roads and 4,372 rai of farmland under water. Prayuth said later that he would work on how to permanently prevent flooding through integrated flood and water management with civilian and military authorities. Immediate measures still underway include the provision of relief to those affected and evacuation of residents to safer places, he added.

Relevant agencies would later work onsite while visiting areas to further help out those affected, he said.

Prayuth was welcomed by a large number of residents after his Army-operated flight landed at an Air Force airbase. He later travelled in a boat to visit flood-affected residents in Krong Krailas district and hand out relief supplies.

In Ayutthaya, farmers growing a special rice seed prematurely harvested the crop to prevent it from being flooded further. One farmer, Somsri Songluek, said she had to use a sickle in the flooded land, instead of relying on tractors.

A deputy provincial governor, Panya Sathong-un, said low-lying Sena, Phak Hai and Bang Bal districts had had a low-level flood, which was common, but it was not an urgent problem.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Four-provinces-in-the-lower-North-remain-inundated-30243190.html

-- The Nation 2014-09-13