Bhumisak Rasri said the damages would dent the country’s gross domestic product by about 0.04 per cent, or Bt3.64 billion.

The figures are estimated based on assessments of flooding since July 5.

“There were about Bt3.59 billion in crop damages, Bt53.47 million for fisheries and Bt1.38 million for livestock,” Bhumisak said. He did not specify what other sectors had been affected.

The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DPMD), meanwhile, said flooding had hit 23 provinces between October 10 and yesterday, affecting 327,420 people. The inundation also caused 18 deaths during the period.

At present, floods continue to afflict the provinces of Phichit, Nakhon Sawan, Sing Buri, Angthong, Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, Suphan Buri, Nong Bua Lamphu, Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham, Kalasin, Roi Et and Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Public Health Ministry deputy permanent secretary Dr Opas Karnkawinpong said Bang Saphan Hospital in Prachuap Khiri Khan was continuing to provide services to patients, although it earlier had to transfer critically ill inpatients to two other hospitals.

“Now Bang Saphan Hospital is treating outpatients and providing child-delivery services as usual,” he said.

As floodwaters around the hospital started to subside, the facility prepared its operating theatre to provide emergency care, he said.

Opas added that the hospital had dispatched a mobile medical unit to two flood-affected villages, which were home to more than 100 families, to deliver healthcare services.

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has warned people in the South to beware of flash floods over the next six days.

Vigilant residents

Local people in a riverside community in Khon Kaen province, which were hit by serious floods last month, are planning to file a petition with the Administrative Court as they believe the Khon Kaen water management committee should be held responsible for flood damages in their hometown.

“We followed the water situation since the beginning of the rainy season via various channels. From the information we have studied, we have come to the conclusion that the committee made mistakes,” said Supranee Panikom, a resident in Tambon Sila’s Beung E Tao, Muang district.

She said residents had started searching for water-related information after suffering serious flood damage during the 2011 crisis.

“We have used smart phones, LINE and Facebook in exchanging information and monitoring the situation,” she said.

Supranee said this April residents checked water levels at Ubolrat Dam, which were already high with a relatively little amount of water discharged from the dam. “Since then, we have followed the situation closely as we were worried that floods would hit,” she said.

Close monitoring of the water situation allowed many residents to move their belongings to higher ground in time as they were sure that their areas would be swamped by floodwaters.