Disasters and emergency response

A feasibility study on a proposal to build a tunnel diverting water from the Mekong River to the drought-stricken Northeast region will be wrapped up by year-end and will determine whether the multi-billion baht project is economically viable, a senior irrigation official says. Somkiat Prajamwong, director of the Project ...

The Public Health Ministry says five hospitals in the North and Northeast are facing severe water shortages caused by the drought, which has affected the hospitals’ medical services. The five hospitals are Doi Ngam Tambon Health Promotion Hospital and Pa Hoong Tambon Health Promotion Hospital in Chiang Rai, ...

The spectre of drought is already hanging over a Mandalay township, where villagers are being forced to pay K50,000 per load of water as their wells dry up. Taungtha township, Mandalay Region, has been facing water shortages as nearby lakes and wells go dry, said Ko ...

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc directed the south-central region and Central Highlands to take measures to prevent droughts at a meeting with local authorities in Ninh Thuan province on 22 February. He urged the localities to examine water reservoirs and build plans for water usage, ...

The number of fires in Cambodia increased by 14.7 per cent in 2015 compared to the previous year, killing 35 people and consuming almost 600 homes. Electrical malfunctions were the leading cause of fires, accounting for 47 per cent of all fire incidents, with carelessness the ...

Bangkok’s Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) will test lower-water-volume distribution for 24 consecutive hours in some areas this week as it braces for an imminent drought crisis. The test will run from 9pm 24 February till 9pm 25 February. “We need to make preparations for any emergency and any ...

More severe drought is expected to hit Thailand between March and April, as authorities have already declared 11 provinces disaster zones due to water scarcity. State agencies are now regulating water more carefully and Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the 1st Army, which oversees the central ...

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered relevant ministries and Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta provinces to prioritise the fight against drought and saltwater intrusion which have severely affected agriculture and fisheries and caused a crippling water shortage. Speaking at a seminar in Can Tho City ...

Drought and saltwater intrusion have worsened in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta this year, threatening rice crops and the daily life of residents. Le Thanh Hai, deputy director of the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, said: “Saltwater intrusion [began in] November 2015, one and half months ...

At least 600 families in the remote Svay Chek district of Banteay Meanchey province are being threatened by a shortage of drinking water that began earlier this month, a provincial official said on 16 February. The water in the wells and rivers has been drying up ...