Govt pledges B5m for Myanmar flood aid

Govt pledges B5m for Myanmar flood aid

A house is submerged in floodwater in Kalay, upper Myanmar's Sagaing region yesterday. Relentless monsoon rains have triggered flash floods and landslides, destroying thousands of houses, farmland, bridges and roads — with fast-flowing waters hampering relief efforts to the more than 150,000 people affected throughout the country. (AFP photo)
A house is submerged in floodwater in Kalay, upper Myanmar's Sagaing region yesterday. Relentless monsoon rains have triggered flash floods and landslides, destroying thousands of houses, farmland, bridges and roads — with fast-flowing waters hampering relief efforts to the more than 150,000 people affected throughout the country. (AFP photo)

The government has donated five million baht to flood stricken Myanmar, where at least 27 people have been killed and more than 150,000 continue to suffer the impact of the worst rains in decades.

Deputy government spokesman Weerachon Sukhontapatipak said yesterday the government had approved financial aid for the Myanmar government to ease the impact of the natural disaster.

The Myanmar ambassador to Thailand will meet Thai representatives today to discuss the flood situation and the country's needs, Maj Gen Weerachon said.

During the meeting, Thai representatives plan to hand over five million baht to the Myanmar ambassador in aid, he added.

With a rising death toll and and hundreds of thousands hit by landslides triggered by monsoon rains in recent days, the Myanmar government has declared a state of emergency in the four worst-hit regions in central and western Myanmar.

The remote and impoverished Chin and Rakhine states have been hit the worst, with roughly 300 homes in Rakhine state destroyed or damaged, and 1,500 people forced to evacuate to shelters, according to the Myanmar Red Cross Society. 

The floods appear to have spared Thai nationals, with no one reported killed so far.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha sent a condolence letter to Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein over the death toll from the flash floods.

Meanwhile, Interior Ministry officials will inspect some flood-affected areas of Sop Moei district in Mae Hong Son to provide first aid to affected people.

The budget for assistance to flood victims will be discussed at a cabinet meeting today, said Maj Gen Weerachon.

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