Drought hits Thai North and Northeast

BANGKOK, August 23 (TNA) - Drought has now hit several areas in the Thai North and Northeast, affecting tens of thousands of households and farmlands. The ongoing drought is even critical in some northeastern provinces, including Chaiyaphum and Maha Sarakham provinces, while, on the contrary, the country's downstream areas, including the western Kanchanaburi province, have experienced continual downpours over the past several days, with Srinagarindra and Vajiralongkorn Dams in Kanchanaburi having almost filled with the persistent rainwater. The dams need to, thus, discharge water, which should, probably, affect people in lower-lying areas. In Chaiyaphum, where local people are facing the most severe drought in a decade, three districts have already been declared drought-stricken disaster zones and over 400,000 rai or 640 square kilometers of paddy fields have been damaged; while local reservoirs are holding water amounting to less than 30 per cent of their capacities, affecting over 30,000 households and even monks. In Maha Sarakham, drought is most severe in Kantharawichai district, which has now been declared drought-hit disaster zone by the provincial governor and local agencies concerned are pumping water to help villagers and farmers. The province has asked for artificial rain operations since early this month with trivial results so far due to unfavoured weather conditions. In Nan province in the Thai North, water levels in the Namliab Reservoir is less than two meters deep and it is now not enough to serve demand of four local villages. (TNA)