Thailand floods: Church mobilises to aid victims

The Catholic Church in Thailand is mobilising volunteers to assist victims of devastating floods that have left almost 300 people dead so far. City workers and soldiers are racing to finish defensive walls around inner Bangkok as floodwater that has covered about a third of Thailand threatened the nation’s capital.

Some outer areas of greater Bangkok have already flooded but the authorities hope the centre will be saved by existing defensive structures plus three new walls, which will help channel water to the east and west of the city into the sea. Run-off water from the north will arrive in the Bangkok area at the weekend at the same time as high tides. This may also coincide with storms and heavy rain.

The Secretary General of Caritas Thailand, Father Rocco Pairat Sriprasert, says the situation is growing worse: “The flooding is much worse today, because the volume of the floods from the north is flowing to the middle area of Thailand to the Nakhon Sawan diocese. Now we need food for the people in the area”.

He says the Church is organising kitchens for temporary shelter for many people who have been displaced. Volunteers are being organised to cook food for the refugees, which is the most pressing immediate concern.

However, Caritas is also in need of other supplies to meet the crisis. “We need other equipment like small boats for each village, because we need to send a rescue team to each village in the remote areas, because up to now we cannot access some villages,” said Fr. Pairat Sriprasert, “So we need small boats to access the villages to give them food and other things that are necessary for them now”.

At least 283 people have been killed around Thailand by heavy monsoon rain, floods and mudslides since late July and 26 of its 77 provinces are inundated.

Listen to Christopher Wells' report and interview: