The government has acknowledged its responsibility for the failure to manage the disastrous inundation in Hat Yai, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said, apologising to the public and pledging to restore normality for affected residents as quickly as possible.
Anutin was speaking during his visit to Hat Yai yesterday, his fourth in a week, as floodwaters continued to recede in many areas.
During the visit, many local approached Anutin, complaining about the government’s ineffectiveness and mismanagement of the crisis.
Asked how he explained the situation to them, he said that the government must listen. Anyone would be angry. We must accept it because the mistake happened during a situation like this. We have to let people vent and apologise to them.”
Everyone is stressed, Anutin said, adding that as the government, “we must apologise for forcing people to leave their homes and live like this. Whatever the case may be, we must acknowledge that mistakes were made, but we must not allow any repeated or worse mistakes. We must restore and return normal living conditions to the villagers as quickly as possible.”
During the visit, a woman complained that she was trapped inside her house, having none of the authorities helping her to evacuate. Anutin gave her a “wai”, saying he must apologise for that.
The flooding, the worst in 25 years, trapped thousands of people in their houses this week. The death toll in Songkhla province yesterday was put at 110.
Speaking during a visit to Prince of Songkhla Hospital, where the bodies of flood victims are being kept, Anutin said the government’s immediate priority is recovery and the swift return of victims’ remains to their families.
He said that once death certificates are issued, the government will provide 2 million baht in compensation for each fatality, with the budget already allocated.
The prime minister said he remains worried about all aspects of the response. With floodwaters beginning to recede, he said the next phase is to help people return home as quickly as possible, followed by large-scale cleaning and repairs to the houses that can still be salvaged.
He said initial relief payments of 9,000 baht per household will be disbursed next week. The government will also offer debt moratoria and interest-free loans of up to 100,000 baht per household.
He said that he has discussed a plan, for state banks to offer the funds as one-year, interest-free “advances”, with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas
Asked about the situation in Hat Yai’s Zone 8, where rescue teams were shot at, Anutin said he will inspect it personally and that authorities must now focus solely on improving conditions for residents.
Reporters also asked whether compensation would apply to people who did not drown but died from pre-existing illnesses during the flood emergency. Anutin said all deaths during the flooding would be counted as flood-related.
“We follow humanitarian principles. Every death is the result of the floods,” he said. “I must take responsibility. There is no need to ‘categorise’.”
