Anutin’ flew a private plane with 2 directors-general to monitor the flooding in Nong Khai Province, asking the public to be confident in the response of government agencies, confirming that there are all plans to deal with the incident, and that it will not be repeated in Chiang Rai Province.
Mr. Anutin Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, together with Mr. Arsit Sampantharat, Director-General of the Department of Provincial Administration, Mr. Pornpoj Penpas, Director-General of the Department of Lands, and Ms. Traisuree Traisaranakul, acting spokesperson of the Ministry of Interior, inspected the water situation and visited to give encouragement to flood victims in Nong Khai Province by using a private plane to land at Udon Thani Airport.
Mr. Anutin revealed that the flood situation in Nong Khai Province has a water level of 1.40 meters and flooding in 5 districts. It is caused by the increase in the amount of water in the Mekong River from flowing from Chiang Rai Province. If t
here is more rain, the flood level will increase by another 20-30 centimeters, which will cause the water to overflow into the city. Today’s visit will look at prevention and relief measures for the people. Although China and Laos have released water from dams into the Mekong River, the water drainage capacity is still good. If there is no water discharge from China and Laos or a storm comes in, the water can be managed without exceeding the capacity.
As for the preparation of the evacuation plan, there are no problems with resources, tools, machinery, equipment, and food because they have already been mobilized. And the preparation of shelters, which is in the emergency response plan of every provincial governor, has prepared an evacuation plan and disseminated it as much as possible, but has not been followed up on each house. It is difficult to get people to leave their homes because there are properties in the homes. In this regard, we must find an evacuation site that is close to the home or can come to
take care of the home. And we must arrange for guards to take care of the property to make the people confident. The most important thing is to protect the lives of the people first. Government officials must ensure the safety of the people’s property as much as possible.
Mr. Anutin talked about the compensation after the flood situation returned to normal. From Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, the Prime Minister, visiting Chiang Rai Province, she immediately approved a budget to help the governors of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, 100 million baht per province. She also ordered relevant agencies, such as the Ministry of Finance, to look at the compensation guidelines for damaged houses of the people to see what form it should take. She asked them to discuss with the Budget Bureau, National Economic and Social Development Board, to minimize the damage to the people.
Mr. Anutin confirmed that the Ministry of Interior assures the public because when a disaster area is declared, the governor will have a reserve budget
to use to care for and help the public. And if the budget runs out, they can request more, which will be quick because it is considered urgent.
For today’s mission, Mr. Anutin and his team will travel to the Nong Khai Irrigation Project to listen to a summary of the water situation in the area before traveling to Wiang Kuk Subdistrict, Mueang District, Nong Khai Province to visit and encourage flood victims and hand out 350 relief bags. Then, travel on to Wat Phra That La Nong, Mueang District, Nong Khai Province to hand out 450 relief bags.
Source: Thai News Agency