The Public Health Ministry yesterday dispatched 60 more doctors from various provinces to assist flood victims in the Central region as the prolonged flooding continues to take a serious toll on the people's physical and mental health.

The 60 medical officers from Nakhon Ratchasima, Chon Buri, and Nakhon Pathom will assist flood-hit people in Sing Buri, Ayutthaya and Angthong, respectively, said Permanent Secretary for Public Health Dr Prat Boonyawongvirot.

So far, the flood crisis has affected 507,030 people - nearly half of them suffering from foot, hand and mouth disease, and skin rashes.

Angthong had the most patients with 44,140, followed by Sing Buri at 39,750, Nakhon Sawan at 35,452, Suphan Buri at 26,644, and Phitsanulok at 26,207.

Dr Prat yesterday received 650 life jackets from the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations and the Stock Exchange of Thailand, which would be given to health volunteers aiding flood-hit people.

Reacting to the report of a Chai Nat resident's attempted suicide, Dr Prat said mental health teams were continuously visiting flood-hit people, and understood that stress from losing relatives or property could lead to suicides.

Government Spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp announced yesterday that the Cabinet had approved Bt157.6 million for the Public Health Ministry to provide counsel and assistance to flood-hit residents.

Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general Anucha Mokawet said the flooding in 16 provinces had stabilised and would return to normal within a month, after which local authorities would pump the remaining floodwaters out of farmlands and residential areas.

The death toll was now 125 and infrastructure damage was estimated at Bt300 million.

Provincial officials were now assessing the total crop and residential damage to seek compensation from the government.

Crop damage led to a dispute between residents of Suphan Buri and Nonthaburi. The former - seeing thousands of rai of their farmland submerged for weeks - urged irrigation officials to open water gates, while the latter resisted for fear their unharvested crops would be endangered.

The provincial authorities of both parties yesterday agreed to open water gates from Klong Khun Sri to Klong Neung at the 27th mark until November 3.

Meanwhile, donations made by the public at the office of the Supreme Patriarch's Secretary has reached Bt2.8 million and the donation period extended to October 30.

An eight-car caravan carrying relief items left from the office at Bangkok's Wat Bovorniwet for 40 temples and 593 families in Angthong's Muang district yesterday. Similar caravans will be dispatched to Ayutthaya's Bang Ban district on October 30, to Phitsanulok's Bang Rakham district on November 3, and to Sing Buri on November 7.

Elsewhere, while the Nan River floodwater in Phichit's Muang, Taphan Hin and Bang Mun Nak districts had subsided, five other districts submerged by the Yom River remained in critical condition with some areas under more than two metres of water.

Meanwhile, the floodwaters submerging Uthai Thani for two weeks have become polluted with grease and garbage, prompting officials to add chlorine to disinfect the water and destroy mosquito incubation grounds.

Phitsanulok's Bang Rakham residents lamented that tambon Wang I-tok had been under two metres of water for two months and suffered food and drink shortage, but government officials only visited them twice, a month ago, each time providing one relief bag and six bottles of water per family.

But other organisations had provided them with food and suppliers at the end of Buddhist Lent.