The ministry called a meeting of governors and agencies to ensure their preparedness, especially on disaster warning.

At-risk villages must be provided with rainfall-measuring instruments and other support equipment, including community radio. Government agencies already had the necessary rainfall-measuring devices, such as the Mineral Resources Department, which has 4,000, he said.

Sermsak said he also ordered  disaster warning devices to be shifted in 1,000 "green zone" villages to the "red zone" locations, which should be completed within seven days.

Drills and disaster-monitoring training would be organised for volunteers, with the target of training at least 2 per cent of each village's population, he said.

Thada Sukhapunaphandh, director of the Hydrology and Water Management Centre for the Upper Northern Region, said the Ping River was at 10 per cent of capacity and could handle a lot more rainfall, while reservoirs had already lowered their water levels in preparation for the rainy season.

The chance of flooding in Phrae, especially in its "red zone" areas, would be as high as 80 per cent from August to September.

Meanwhile, in southern Thailand, which has already experienced heavy downpours and flooding in some areas, Phang Nga authorities set up an emergency centre at the provincial Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office to provide quick assistance in case of floods and landslides, local official Thammanoon Wanna-wichaikul said.

Disaster-watch groups had been dispatched to at-risk locations and reported back to the  centre every hour, Thammanoon said.

He urged residents of low-lying land or near mountains to follow weather reports closely.

The Nation

Chiang Mai