Bt330m spent fighting drought in 52 provinces
Drought in 52 of the country's 76 provinces has affected 7.9 million people and some 713,700 rai of farmland, according to Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department chief Anucha Mokawet.
The department sent some 1,200 water pumps to drought-hit areas and is excavating almost 1,000 canals and waterways. It has repaired and built new water tanks in several villages. The department dispatched more than 850 tankers to supply drought-affected communities, he said. All this has cost Bt327.6 million, he added. Meanwhile Royal Irrigation Department chief Samart Chokanapitak yesterday said that weather forecasters expected low rainfall to continue for another two to three months. The irrigation department factors these forecasts into water-management plans. The department irrigates 27.9 million rai and nine million rai of farmland. The department will supply water pumps and other equipment to four million rai outside irrigated areas to ease water shortages. Samart insisted that this year's drought would not be as severe as those of the early 1990s, when the water in the Bhumibol and Sirikit dams fell to dangerous levels and water had to be diverted into estuary areas to prevent seawater from encroaching on farmland. Dam and reservoir levels are at 78 per cent, 6 per cent more than at the same time last year, Samart said. Buri Ram's Lam Nangrong Dam and Uthai Thani's Thap Salao Dam are below 40 per cent while the Mool, Yom and upper Nan river basins are low too, he added. Satun, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi and Ranong provinces are forecast to receive the lowest rainfall. Although Samart was optimistic about water supplies the year, he said that if low rainfall continued into next year drought in 2009 would be serious. In related news, all districts of Uthai Thani except Muang have been declared disaster zones. More than 90 forest fires have damaged 4,231 rai, mostly in the Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary. Central region royal rainmaking office director Akane Boonlert said it was helping 11 provinces. It is working to increase water levels in the Thap Salao and Huai Khun Kaew dams in Lan Sak and Huay Khot districts of Uthai Thani. Its efforts have produced 22 millimetres of rain in the province and added 130,000 cubic metres of water to the Thap Salao Dam.
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