Alleviation of 2010 Drought Crisis

While the hot politics is heating up the country, severe drought has also sucked the land dry, destroying farmland. Drought crisis this year is expected to be severer and last longer than last year. The government and relevant agencies are therefore preparing measures to mitigate the effects of drought.

According to the latest report of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), there are 36 provinces in the country with nearly four million people facing water shortages. In the same period last year, there were 29 provinces with nearly three million people suffering from drought. 51.38% more villages experience drought year-on-year. An approximate of 118,000 rai of farmland nationwide is expected to be hit by drought.

As for the alleviation measures, 348 water trucks have been dispatched to distribute more than 46.75 million liters of water for people’s consumption. About 2,600 temporary reservoirs have been set up to store water. In addition, 479 canals have been dug to provide more water supplies for the communities. About 26.4 billion THB budget, allocated from both provincial and local administrative levels, has been spent for the operations.

Meanwhile, the Royal Irrigation Department has sent about 700 water pumps to assist the drought- stricken provinces. About two-third of the water pumps have been sent to the north and the northeast with the rest to other regions.

Upon the drought crisis and water scarcity, these alleviation measures taken by the government and relevant sectors will not be suffice to ensure adequate water if fresh water is not consumed wisely. Apart from the economical water consumption, more measures to solve the problem sustainably in the long run, including forestation, irrigation system development, and efficient water supply management are also needed to ease drought.