Thai PM Paetongtarn visits flood-hit Chiang Rai as army evacuates thousands amid rising monsoon threat
BANGKOK, June 28 — Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra made an emergency visit on Saturday to the country's flood-hit north, where the military is evacuating residents after monsoon rains inundated thousands of homes.
The Royal Thai Army says more than 3,700 homes were flooded across five districts in Chiang Rai province, alongside 80 hectares of agricultural land, with roads made impassable in three areas.
Heavy rains are forecast to continue in the coming days, while the military has deployed rafts to ferry residents from their homes engulfed by muddy brown water, according to images shared on their Facebook page.
Paetongtarn made a one-day trip to inspect damage in the hardest-hit area of Phaya Mengrai district, 25 kilometres from the Laos border.
'The prime minister met with flood-hit communities and asked about their well-being, including access to food, clean water, and care for vulnerable groups,' the government said in a statement.
Paetongtarn made the visit as she faces mounting pressure in the capital Bangkok, where protesters gathered on Saturday to call for her resignation over a leaked diplomatic phone call.
It remains unclear how many people have been impacted by the flooding. However the military said more than 4,400 households had been affected.
Thailand's disaster prevention agency said it is closely monitoring water levels and urged communities to move belongings to higher ground in case of flash flooding.
While Thailand experiences annual monsoon rains in the third quarter of the year, man-made climate change is causing more intense weather patterns that make destructive floods more likely.
Widespread flooding across Thailand in 2011 killed more than 500 people and damaged millions of homes. — AFP
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