PM gives moral support to officials in disaster response drill despite heavy rain

LOP BURI, Feb 15 (TNA) – Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha inspected and gave moral support to officials joining the Integrated Disaster Management Exercise 2019 (IDMEx 2019) in heavy rain in Lop Buri's provincial seat. Royal guard soldiers from the 1st Special Forces Division in Lop Buri’s provioncial seat also joined the exercise. There was a rainstorm at the latter period of the drill, which blew tents including that of the prime minister. Soldiers rushed to grab the tent poles. The prime minister said that was exactly a disaster response action. After the exercise, the prime minister walked and talked to participants in the drill in the persistent rain. He advised them to follow royal guidance for the sake of efficiency. Provincial governors would have to understand royal guidance and apply it appropriately, he said. His Majesty the King was concerned about the living conditions of citizens and wanted to minimize the impacts of disasters on people, Gen Prayut said. The prime minister also recommended relevant officials do their best to inform general people of any upcoming disasters and regularly conduct such exercises. The exercise in Lop Buri included disaster response actions based on the Pabuk storm and situations at the flooded Tham Luang cave that had trapped the youth Wild Boars football team. (TNA)