10 million rai of land at risk from floods

About 10.6 million rai in 52 provinces has proven to be flood-prone, Land Development Department (LDD) director-general Chaiwat Sitthibus said yesterday.
The land, both private and public, will be included in a new LDD mapping project, which will be used to devise a flood and water management scheme. About 900,000 rai was flooded eight to 10 times a year while 3.4 million rai had been flooded four to seven times over the past 10 years. The rest, about 6.3 million rai, had suffered from flooding less than three times in the past decade. Meanwhile, a charity under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Soamsavali, has been providing free drinking water and three meals a day to flood-hit residents in Prachuap Khiri Khan province. A total of 10,000 sets of medical supplies and 700 bags of relief material are being distributed among those affected in neighbouring Chumphon, where one man died from electrocution last night after flash-floods had streamed into his house. A weather report yesterday forecast heavy rains would lash 50 to 70 per cent of the Northeast from tomorrow until Tuesday and that the rains would let up in other regions, including Bangkok. People living in low-lying areas in the Northeast are advised to prepare for flash floods. Evacuation and other emergency drills are being conducted in most flood-prone provinces, the Interior Ministry said.
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