Govt offers B10k to all flood-affected households

Flood-affected Mae Sai district of Chiang Rai. (Photo: Wat Bang Na Nai)
Flood-affected Mae Sai city of Chiang Rai. ( Photo: Wat Bang Na Nai )

The government will give 10, 000 ringgit to all affected communities to help pay for cleanup costs.

Anutin Charnvirakul, the Interior Minister, reported that the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation ( DDPM) had approved a budget request.

No government approval was needed, Mr Anutin said, adding that the government only acknowledged the problem at Tuesday’s meet.

He claimed that the 9, 000 ringgit payment provided for each disaster victim is distinct from the 10, 000 ringgit in financial aid for post-flood cleanup.

The 10, 000-baht support will be provided to home users who either have to clear up the dirt that has been left behind by flooding themselves or who need to get others to do the work.

They are not ready for the support if representatives or volunteers have already helped them clean up their homes, according to Mr. Anutin.

According to Mr. Anutin, even a deputy prime minister, the DDPM will then conduct surveys of the Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai neighborhoods that are most in need of financial aid.

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra stated that the government had approved a shift in the guidelines for disaster compensation payouts after the cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Today, every household is entitled for a single repayment of 9, 000 Baht.

Under the old standards, homes that were flooded for 30 days or less received 5, 000 ringgit each, while those inundated for more than 30 times but less than 60 received 7, 000 ringgit each. Prior to now, only communities with floods that lasted for more than 60 times received 9, 000 baht.

A 3.04 billion ringgit resources was approved by the government on September 17 to pay compensation to flood victims all over the country.

Following the flood, the Chiang Mai municipality’s cleanup of the evening bazaar and the main market in Waroros continued along the Ping River on Tuesday.

The project had begun on Monday following the city’s worst flooding in memory next year. Next Saturday, the Ping River rose to a report 5.3 feet deep at the Naowarat monitoring station.

The Ping River’s ocean levels has continued to drop. On Tuesday, the levels measured at the Naowarat tracking place was 3.22 feet, 48cm below the lender. But, officials in neighboring Lamphun on Tuesday issued a warning to residents who live along or near the Kuang River to move their belongings and important things to secure locations because the river was rising and getting near a crisis level.

The DDPM reported on Tuesday that flood persists in 19 counties in the North, the Northeast, the Central Plains and the South, affecting more than 66, 000 homes.

A total of 1, 556 settlements in 65 towns were inundated and 66, 202 people remain afflicted, said the office.