UN Supports Thai Flood Relief

Bangkok, 16 June 2006

Following the severe flash floods in Northern Thailand, the United Nations signed today a 5.4 million baht (USD 140,000) project with the Community Organization Development Institute (CODI) to provide assistance to those people most in need of relief and support.

The funding is being jointly provided by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and will be used for emergency supplies, shelter, counseling for victims, as well as community mobilization and village-level coordination of relief operations.

Earlier, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) provided assistance to Amphur Tapla, the affected district in Uttaradit Province, by sending 14,000 chlorine tablets for disinfecting shallow wells and drinking water. 

“We at the United Nations feel a great sense of solidarity with the people affected by this new disaster and we want to do our part in supporting the Thai Government’s relief and recovery effort” says Joana Merlin-Scholtes, the UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand.

More than 340, 000 people were affected by heavy rains and landslides at the end of May, which affected five Northern provinces: Lamphang, Nan, Phrae, Sukhothai and Uttaradit. Nearly 700 houses were completely destroyed and some 3,000 were damaged. The Government estimates the cost of the damage caused by the flooding to be more than USD 8 million, even without taking into account the loss of victims’ property and personal belongings.

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