Seven districts in quake-stricken Chiang Rai in Thai North declared disaster zones

CHIANG RAI, THAILAND, May 6 (TNA) - Seven districts of Chiang Rai Province in the Thai North, the center of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake striking the country's northern region on Monday evening, have already been declared quake-hit disaster zones. The quake-stricken disaster districts, declared on Tuesday by Chiang Rai Governor Pongsak Wangsamer, include Phan, Mae Lao, Mae Suai, Wiang Chai, Muang, Pa Daet and Phaya Mengrai. A latest survey found that the May 5-powerful quake caused damage to 401 villages in 34 localities of the disaster-declared districts, where four houses became debris and about 3,500 others were partially damaged, whereas physical impacts also happened to 10 local temples, three schools, three hospitals, a hotel and a road. The provincial governor acknowledged that safety concerns remain, as four aftershocks have been recorded per hour on average so far, saying that he has, therefore, ordered local public works officials to examine large buildings and local disaster relief officials and administrators to quickly help victims. As locals of hundreds of households in Chiang Rai's Mae Lao and Mae Suai Districts remain too scared to return to their houses and, instead, stay in tents set up on public fields and open areas of local schools and temples, National Police Chief Police General Adul Saengsingkaew ordered border patrol police to quickly deliver necessities to the victims and repair damaged houses in Mae La, Muang and Phan Districts, while also being on standby for rescue missions. (TNA)