Southern Thailand’s Hat Yai city centre spared from floods

SONGKHLA: Companies have yet to determine the losses incurred by business disruptions caused by the crisis, but Hat Yai’s central business district was largely spared from the floods, which left over four billion ringgit of destruction throughout the state, according to Songkhla’s chamber of commerce.

Songpol Chansiriwathanathamrong, chairman of the country’s chamber of commerce, said the storms that hit the South affected over 540, 000 persons across 533 settlements in the country’s 16 regions.

He claimed that while the room had estimated property damage worth more than four billion baht, losses incurred by temporary business shut downs during the floods have not yet been reported. &nbsp, &nbsp, &nbsp,

The worst of the flood, which specifically affected people living in rural areas, was largely spared from the central business district in Helmet Yai, he said.

” Up in 2010, the storms paralysed the central business district and caused over 10 billion ringgit of destruction, but this time the region was safe because of Klong Phuminartdamri, which is able to discharge about 1, 200 square feet of water per second from the area”, he said.

The chamber intends to ask the government to impose a 3-3-6-month debt moratorium and grant gentle loans to impacted residents so they can repair their homes and businesses to aid residents in dealing with the effects of the floods, according to Mr. Songpol.

” Without loan repayment suspension, non-performing funding may spike”, he said.

He stated that the tourism industry will collaborate with the Tourism Authority of Thailand ( TAT ) to provide promotions that will increase visitor numbers and boost the economy.

Sitthipong Sitthipataraprapa, president of Hat Yai’s hotels organization, said hospitality and event tickets which would have pulled in 300-400 million baht in earnings were cancelled because of the floods.

He urged the government to take into account property tax reductions for disaster victims and income tax deductions for local employees.

Korakot Tetiranon, chairman of the chambers of commerce in Surat Thani, Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla, called for reduction measures for small-and-medium-sized companies.

The state needs to act as soon as possible as more heavy rain is forecast to collapse on these counties over the next few days.

According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 664, 173 communities in 87 districts in 10 southern provinces were impacted by the floods, which left 31 people dead between November 22 and December 8?

Although the condition is usually improving, there are still reports of flooding in six regions in Nakhon Si Thammarat, three in Songkhla, and two towns in Pattani. According to the office, rescue personnel and tools like water pumps and removal vehicles are still in use.