Govt broadcasts to urge moral support, help for flood victims

He said the programme will be broadcast through the state-run NBT television and radio stations, as well as other channels of their electronic media including websites and Facebook accounts.
Titled “Bridge to Link Thailand and Send Moral Support to the South”, it will be broadcast live from 9am.
Earlier, Sansern said the government had upgraded the ongoing flood situation in the South and set up an advance command to deal directly with the national disaster.
He also said the governors of all the affected provinces had been authorised to spend Bt20 million from the reserved state budget to aid the flood victims. 
The government has elevated the southern flood situation to Level 3 (large-scale public disaster) and has set up since Friday a national disaster prevention and mitigation advance command at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation’s 11th (Surat Thani) and 12th (Songkhla) branch offices, the spokesman said. 
This was to urgently integrate aid to the victims via measures including drainage, evacuation, building of shelters and distribution of food and relief bags, he added. 
In addition, the aid fund for |disaster victims at the Prime Minister’s Office would provide additional funds upon request, said Sansern. 
Donation pleas by state agencies circulating on social media were old information, he said. Agencies could still provide sufficient aid for now, but if there was clarity about calls for donations, he would inform the public later.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has instructed military units with heavy machinery to aid the flood victims in 10 affected provinces, said National Council for Peace and Order spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree. 
They comprised 3,569 soldiers, 122 army trucks, 26 flat-bottomed boats, two medical teams, two mobile kitchens, he said. Army commander-in-chief General Chalermchai Sittisat also instructed soldiers to prepare another 10 boats and bridge compartments to help people if required.
In a related development, former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on her Facebook page that her heart went out to residents of the South which was hit by worst flood in decades. 
She also urged the government to invest in water management plans that her administration had prepared to help prevent and |alleviate the impact of floods on the people.
Democrat Party politician Thepthai Senpong yesterday called on the prime minister to visit the affected provinces to help expedite assistance to flood victims.