Bangkok: “Phradon” has confirmed that the government will provide 2 million baht in funeral expenses to all eight provinces without issuing a state of emergency. Mr. Paradorn Prisananantakul, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office and Director of the Flood Emergency Operations Center (FOCOC), revealed progress in providing compensation for those killed in the southern floods. He stated that a meeting discussed the approval of 2 million baht in funeral expenses for the deceased in all flood-affected provinces, not just Songkhla.

According to Thai News Agency, the Prime Minister believes that since the disasters are the same and stem from the same irregularities, equal compensation should be provided to all eight provinces, and there is no need to issue an additional Emergency Decree in other provinces. He has instructed Mr. Paradorn to coordinate with the Prime Minister’s Office Fund and the Budget Bureau to allocate compensation funds.

Mr. Paradorn stated that next week, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation will submit the matter to the Budget Bureau and the Disaster Relief Fund, Office of the Prime Minister, using 1 million baht from the Prime Minister’s Office Fund and another 1 million baht from the central budget, totaling 2 million baht in compensation per person, similar to Songkhla Province.

The regulations to accommodate this additional payment will be revised, he said, adding that “there shouldn’t be any problems; everyone will receive the same amount.” Preliminary figures show that there are approximately 40 deaths in the remaining seven provinces, not including the 140-plus deaths in Songkhla Province, which have already been approved.