It has been over a week now since flood waters subsided in Mae Sai Chiang Rai, and the progress of flood rehabilitation in the Thai-Myanmar border area is still ongoing. Many home residents are dealing with mud that has filled the first floor of their homes.
The Ministry of Interior reports the Ministry of Defense is still mobilizing volunteer defense personnel and soldiers from around the country, totaling more than 2,000 personnel, along with machinery, to dig mud and soil from roads and houses of residents in the Koh Sai and Mai Lung Khan communities. Meanwhile, local residents and shop owners have also come out to clean their businesses.
However, even though government agencies have set a goal to clean houses so that all affected residents can move into their homes by the end of October, a survey found that many families, especially in the Koh Sai community, still have thick mud covering their homes and entrances, making it impossible to move into their homes.
Many families have decided to abandon the ground floor of their homes without removing the mud covering them. In addition to reducing the recovery time, and it will also serve as a flood protection for the next time there is flooding.
Mr. Boonmee Wansopa, 55, a resident of the Koh Sai community, said that his two-story house, has been flooded every year, mostly knee-deep. But this year, the floodwaters reached the second floor of the house, causing mud to flow and pile up on the lower floor, almost reaching the beams of the second floor.
Therefore, we decided not to remove the soil because it would be time-consuming and expensive. So we brought soil to fill the empty space to make it hard. Then we will renovate the upper floor of the house to be a single-storey home. This will not only reduce costs, but also reduce the recovery time, he said.
At Sai Lom Joy Market many government agencies, especially the Friends in Need Foundation (Por Por) have mobilized machinery and personnel and have been working to restore the area. The business owners have asked the government agencies to help so that they can reopen and sell their products as soon as possible.
Mrs. Saeng Chandi, 50, a clothes vendor said her shop still has mud higher than 1 meter high. It has been more than 1 month and they still haven’t cleared out the mud, she told reporters. She said she doesn’t know when they will be able to open because in addition to clearing the mud, they will also need time to repair and renovate the shops because almost all the shops were damaged.
Meanwhile, the Chiang Rai Contemporary Art Museum and the Khua Sila Art Association are presenting The Chiang Rai Disaster Archives 2024 event which is scheduled to be held from October 19 to December 19, 2024.
The activities will include a collection of photographs, paintings, drawings, video recordings of the entire 2-month period of flooding from both artists and from public media. After the event all data will be recorded into a public archive.
Professor Suwit Jaipom, President of the Khua Silpa Association, revealed that the Chiang Rai Contemporary Art Museum has also invited artists from all over the country to submit their work for display in the Chiang Rai Disaster Archives 2024 exhibition.
They can submit their work without restrictions on techniques or methods, and the size must be 30 x 30 centimeters (unframed). Or if you want to send it as an image file in advance, you can do so via the Khua Silpa on Line App.
Related News:
Village in Mae Sai Chiang Rai a Ghost Town as Residents to Poor to Return Home
Village in Mae Sai Chiang Rai a Ghost Town as Residents to Poor to Return Home