Authorities are planning to expand assistance to more people, as it is not anticipated that the flood water that has flooded the southern province for nearly a week will recede until later this week.
Governor Rachit Sudphum convened a meeting on Monday with all concerned agencies to prepare rehabilitation schemes for residents whose farms have been affected by heavy flooding.
Water levels are expected to decline later in the week, as the discharge was reduced at midnight on Sunday at the Bang Lang reservoir in Yala’s Bannang Satar district, authorities said.
As heavy rains that started last week caused water levels in the dam to rise rapidly, causing the Pattani River to burst its banks, the reservoir’s spillways were opened.
Authorities said they were still tracking the level of water in the reservoir closely.
On Saturday, Mr. Rachit declared the entire province a disaster zone as floods in all districts were recorded, with Muang district hitting the hardest.
A total of 14,281 households were affected by flooding as of Sunday. One person died after being electrocuted, while another was reported missing in the Pattani River after being swept away by powerful currents.
Pattani bore the brunt of the heavy rains that for nearly a week had battered the southern provinces.
Thousands of farms and houses, some up to the rooftops, were flooded.
Three people were killed and 62,270 households were affected by the floods in Narathiwat, Pattani, Songkhla, and Yala, according to the latest data released by the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department.
The department reported that it was working closely with the authorities concerned to provide the affected residents with flood relief.
It will determine the damage to properties once the flood water recedes and provide financial assistance, it said.
Satellite images published by the Development Agency for Geo-Informatics and Space Technology (Gistda) showed that nearly 40,000 rai of land was underwater.
In the meantime, COSMO-SkyMed-4 photographs reported that at least 38,000 rai of land — agricultural and residential — had been submerged.
Source: Bangkok Post
