6 Chiang Mai districts declared disaster zones

A total of six districts of Chiang Mai province were declared disaster zones as the prevailing cold weather affected 469,132 people, Chiang Mai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation official Khomsan Suwan-ampa said yesterday.

They were in urgent need of about 369,000 quilt blankets, 45,000 acrylic blankets, and 60,000 winter jackets.

After Om Koi and Samoeng districts were declared disaster zones and some 4,000 blankets were distributed to the affected, the province yesterday declared Fang, Chom Thong, Kalayaniwattana and Mae Ai districts as disaster zones. It would initially allocate Bt1 million to each district to buy winter clothing for the affected residents. He said the province might declare Hot district as a disaster zone next week if the temperature continued to drop.