Northern Thailand hit by severe drought

LAMPHUN, Feb 17 (TNA) - Several provinces in northern Thailand are now encountering severe drought even though the summer season has just begun while authorities in the South have laid out measures to combat the natural catastrophe. Longan and fruits growers in the northern province of Lamphun are now suffering as they do not have sufficient water for their fruit trees while the ongoing drought prevailing in the province is considered to have come too early and is the worst in the past decade. Concerned officials have already declared five districts in the province to be severe drought-hit zones. In nearby Chiang Mai province, villagers in Mae Wang have rushed to pump water from an irrigational canal for use in watering their crops. It is expected that drought situation in the province would become worsen in the next two months. The drought situation in the lower northern province of Phitsanulok is also worrisome, leaving cash crops damaged due to scarcity of water. So far eight districts in the province have been declared as drought hit areas. As severe drought is hitting the North, concerned officials in the southern province of Songkhla, near the Thai-Malaysian border, are preparing measures to counter drought which is likely to occur during the next few months. Officials and villagers have constructed dykes near a waterfall to store water during the dry season as they believed this year's summer would be hardest hit compared to the past few years. (TNA)