Key points
- Over 4,400 households affected
- Thai premier visits worst-hit Phaya Mengrai district
- Heavy monsoon rains destroy crops, block roads in Chiang Rai
ISLAMABAD: Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra made an emergency visit on Saturday to the country’s flood-hit north, where the military is evacuating residents after monsoon rains inundated thousands of homes.
The Royal Thai Army says more than 3,700 homes were flooded across five districts in Chiang Rai province, alongside 80 hectares (200 acres) of agricultural land, with roads made impassable in three areas, according to AFP.
Heavy rains are forecast to continue in the coming days, while the military has deployed rafts to ferry residents from their homes engulfed by muddy brown water, according to images shared on their Facebook page.
Paetongtarn made a one-day trip to inspect damage in the hardest-hit area of Phaya Mengrai district, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from the Laos border.
Flood-hit communities
“The prime minister met with flood-hit communities and asked about their well-being, including access to food, clean water, and care for vulnerable groups,” the government said in a statement.
Paetongtarn visited as she faces mounting pressure in the capital, Bangkok, where protesters gathered on Saturday to call for her resignation over a leaked diplomatic phone call.
It remains unclear how many people have been impacted by the flooding. However, the military said more than 4,400 households had been affected.
Thailand’s disaster prevention agency said it is closely monitoring water levels and urged communities to move belongings to higher ground in case of flash flooding.
While Thailand experiences annual monsoon rains in the third quarter of the year, man-made climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that make destructive floods more likely, according to AFP.
Widespread flooding
Widespread flooding across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes.
Heavy rains triggered flash floods on Friday, impacting over 4,405 households and destroying rice fields in northern Thailand.
Hundreds of hectares of rice fields were flooded after heavy rainfall hit five districts, 10 sub-districts, and 32 villages in the Chiang Rai city, according to Anadolu new agency.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Economy and Society Prasert Jantararuangtong said that he has issued orders to “monitor the situation and implement protective measures, including issuing evacuation alerts for those in high-risk areas.”
“The public has been advised to prepare for evacuation and secure supplies, especially in case of prolonged flooding,” he said.
