PUA, Thailand, March 27 (UPI) -- Drought in Thailand's northern province Nan has caused more than $1.2 million damage and left more than 200,000 without sufficient water, authorities said.
Ekkrit Jittangkul, acting chief of the Nan Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, said all 15 districts in the province have been declared drought-stricken areas, the Thai news agency MCOT reported.
The areas hardest hit are the provincial seat, Pua, and Tha Wang Pha.
Ekkrit said 216,000 residents lacked sufficient water and about 55,350 acres of crops have been damaged.
Authorities have dredged ponds and sped distribution of water supplies to areas affected by the drought, and workers plan to dredge canals and major rivers, MCOT said.
In the northern province of Phichit, irrigation officials asked farmers in the provincial seat of Pho Prathap Chang and in Taphan Hin not to plant off-season rice to reduce drought damage.
MCOT said the Huai Krachao district in the western province of Kanchanaburi also faces severe drought.
Authorities have sped distribution of water supplies to 17 villages in Kanchanaburi and worked with the Royal Irrigation Department on artificial rainmaking.
