Army ready to help disaster-hit Thai south

BANGKOK, January 4 (TNA) - Thai Army Chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has ordered army personnel to be ready for relief operations provided to people in the Thai south who have been affected by storm-triggered runoffs and landslides over the past couple of days. General Prayuth told reporters on Wednesday that disaster response units of the Royal Thai Army's regions 1-3 have been told to be prepared to mobilize personnel and flood-relief equipment to support those of the 4th Army Area Command if needed. General Prayuth said, however, that the 4th Army Area Command tasked with overseeing security in southern Thailand has confirmed it has brought the situation under control so far. According to the Thai army chief, army assistance to the southern flood victims will particularly be focused on areas hardest hit by the latest natural disaster in the Thai South since the beginning of this year, including Khao Luang in Nakhon Si Thammarat and those in Surat Thani Provinces. The army commander-in-chief assessed that the current inundations in the Thai South should soon ease if there were no longer heavy downpours in the coming days. (TNA)