NAKHON RATCHASIMA – Local residents and farmers in drought-hit areas in northeastern and northern Thailand are facing worsening water shortage.
Due to lower-than-normal rainfall last year, drought is expected to be more severe and last longer in this dry season.
Water in natural sources has dried up across Nakhon Ratchasima, forcing hundreds of households in the northeastern province to spend around THB2,000 monthly to buy water from merchants since November.
Four districts of BuengKan province have been declared drought disaster zones.
The water level in the Doi Tao Lake in Chiang Mai has dropped, turning the large water reservoir into cattle field. Several recreational rafts and fishing boats are aground in the almost dried lake. Some rafts have to be moved 50 kilometers downstream.
In Uttaradit province, water works service in Mueang district has faced water shortage affecting thousands of people. They now need to rely on a reservoir, the last water source which is also running low.
Local officials throughout Thailand’s north and northeast have sought long-term solutions to the drought problems while calling on farmers to suspend their crop cultivation.
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