Government House, Oct 8 – The Prime Minister revealed that the Cabinet has approved a lump sum payment of 9,000 baht for flood relief, warning that “Lamphun-Lampang” receive water from Chiang Mai but will not flood heavily, ordering all units to go to the area to take care of the people.
Ms. Paethongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister, announced the results of the Cabinet meeting. Today, the Prime Minister came down to give a press conference before the Cabinet meeting ended because she had an official mission to visit the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and attend the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits in Vientiane, Lao PDR, from October 8-11, 2024. She said that the Cabinet meeting approved the Ministry of Interior’s proposal to review the criteria for flood relief payments, changing it to a lump sum of 9,000 baht per household, under the original budget of 3,045 million baht.
While Ms. Thirat Rattanawanich, Deputy Minister of Interior as the Forward Commander, reported that all units in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai
provinces have proceeded according to the timeline set, both in Chiang Rai, Mae Sai district, and in Chiang Mai, in Mueang and Mae Taeng districts, especially the elephant camp where two elephants died and the military has removed both elephants from the area and moved other animals to a safe area.
The Prime Minister also mentioned concerns that the water from Chiang Mai Province, which has already started to recede, will return to normal within 4-5 days. As for Lamphun and Lampang Provinces, the water from Chiang Mai will move down. There will be flooding, but it will not be a lot because the water will flow into the Bhumibol Dam and the Mekong River. However, forces have been sent to prepare and take care of it. Therefore, he asked the people of Lamphun and Lampang to be confident because there will be officials to take care of it.
For the area in Bangkok, the water will definitely not flood like in 2011. The Chao Phraya River can still hold a lot more water because in 2011, the Chao Phraya Dam had only 1
,000 cubic meters left. But this year, there is only 6,000 cubic meters left, so there is no need to worry. We have a systematic water management plan and have been talking with ONWR all the time, including the area downstream of the dam. Therefore, we will try to release water so that it does not affect the people. We are monitoring this issue all the time. However, we would like to thank all sectors for their cooperation in mobilizing forces to help the people.
The Prime Minister said that after this, there will be a meeting of the Flood, Storm and Landslide Situation Management Committee (COSM) to follow up on the progress, plan and prevent such incidents from happening in the future. There will be urgent and long-term plans on next Tuesday (October 15) after returning from the ASEAN Summit. The committee and all relevant persons will be assigned to provide advice on the water system of the entire country.
When asked about the lump sum compensation of 9,000 baht, will there be special assistance for the
mud problem in Mae Sai District? The Prime Minister said that initially, it will be a lump sum for every household, but there have been really serious incidents and the framework has been expanded. The Ministry of Interior has already proposed it, so the framework is still comprehensive. However, assistance will be considered on a case-by-case basis together with the governor.
When asked whether the 9,000-baht lump sum compensation would be paid immediately, the Prime Minister said that many households had already paid 5,000 baht and that payments would be made gradually. After the inspection, additional payments would be considered. -316- Thai News Agency
Source: Thai News Agency