Anupong urges authorities to help flood-hit residents in the South

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DPMD) chief Chatchai Phromlert reported yesterday that the floods have so far affected 3,573 households, with four persons missing and one injured. One house has been destroyed, while another partially damaged.
After receiving reports that flooding has eased in Chumphon, Phattalung and Pattani provinces, but residents in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang and Krabi continue to suffer, Anupong called on the DPMD to help provincial authorities provide aid to the affected residents. He has also told them to prioritise locals’ safety.
The minister has also instructed relevant officials to assess the damages, improve flood-prevention measures and help rehabilitate affected areas, as well as repair the infrastructure quickly.
Chatchai, meanwhile, said five districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat – namely Chawang, Chang Khlang, Phibun, Lan Saka and Phra Phrome – saw 2,408 households affected by the flooding, with one person getting injured and six roads and 2,000 rai of farmland getting damaged.
In Trang’s Muang and Huay Yot districts, 723 households were affected, while Krabi saw Lam Thap and Khlong Thom districts inundated.
DPMD officials, Army officers and related agencies have already dispatched pumps and immediate aid to affected villagers.
In Chumphon’s Lang Suan district, land subsidence due to flooding has made a library building within the 200-year-old Wat Walukaram compound to collapse yesterday, prompting abbot Phra Khru Adul Weerawat to alert district chief Chumpol Suksai. The estimated damage was about Bt10 million.
The monk also expressed concern that the subsidence would spread to other parts of the compound. The monk also showed reporters the 4-metre-deep crater caused by the collapse of the 25m-long, 8m-wide library. He said the library was built in 1963 to store Buddhist textbooks and wooden artefacts, while the temple was built in 1822.