Thai government allocates $122 million emergency aid after floods kill 19

The Thai cabinet signed off on an emergency fund of 4.1 billion baht (roughly $122 million) to aid flood victims after a deluge that started in mid-September and has impacted more than 2.6 million people across the nation. Government spokesperson Ekkapob Pianpises said the Interior Ministry will allocate the money to compensate those affected, while Industry Minister Varawut Silpa-archa put business damage at around 22 million baht.

The disaster has claimed at least 19 lives, four of them in Bangkok, and left large parts of the capital still submerged, especially in eastern neighborhoods, though rain has largely stopped and main roads should clear within two days. Transportation suffered heavily, with Suvarnabhumi Airport experiencing massive flight cancellations and a severe luggage backlog that Thai Airways CEO Chai Eamsiri apologized for, prompting the Thai Air Force to send personnel to assist. Flooding also hit neighboring Myanmar and Cambodia, causing deaths, evacuations and prompting protective measures at Cambodia’s Angkor temple complex.