SONGKHLA: Hat Yai's central business district was mostly spared from the floods which caused over four billion baht of damage across the province, though businesses have yet to calculate the losses caused by trade disruptions from the disaster, says Songkhla's chamber of commerce.
Songpol Chansiriwathanathamrong, president of the province's chamber of commerce, said the floods that hit the South affected over 540,000 people across 533 villages in the province's 16 districts.
He said while the chamber estimated property damage from the floods to be over four billion baht, losses from the temporary shutdown of businesses during the height of the floods have yet to be tallied.
The central business district in central Hat Yai was largely spared from the worst of the flooding, which particularly affected residents living in rural areas, he said.
"Back in 2010, the floods paralysed the central business district and caused over 10 billion baht of damage, but this time the area was safe because of Klong Phuminartdamri, which is able to drain about 1,200 cubic metres of water per minute from the area," he said.
The chamber plans to ask the government to implement a debt repayment moratorium for 3-6 months, and extend soft loans to affected residents so they can rebuild their homes and businesses, to help residents deal with the aftermath of the floods, said Mr Songpol.
"Without debt repayment suspension, non-performing loans will spike," he said.
The tourism sector will work with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to roll out promotions to attract more tourists to the province and stimulate the economy, he said.
Sitthipong Sitthipataraprapa, chairman of Hat Yai's hoteliers association, said accommodation and event bookings which would have pulled in 300-400 million baht in revenues were cancelled because of the floods.
He urged the government to consider income tax deductions for local workers and property tax reduction for flood victims.
Korakot Tetiranon, president of the chambers of commerce in Surat Thani, Chumphon, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla, called for relief measures for small-and-medium-sized businesses.
The government needs to act as quickly as possible, as more heavy rain is expected to fall on these provinces over the next couple of weeks.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation says 664,173 households in 87 districts across 10 southern provinces were affected by the floods, which killed 31 people between Nov 22-Dec 8.
Floods were still reported in six districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat, three in Songkhla and two districts in Pattani, although the situation is generally improving. The department said that rescue officials and equipment such as water pumps and evacuation vehicles remain on standby.