Chiang Rai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office Finishes Survey of Damaged Areas

The Department of Mental Health has discovered that around 200 people in Chiang Rai were severely stressed after having been traumatized by the earthquake

 

CHIANG RAI -The Chiang Rai Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office has surveyed the damaged areas, helped victims, and are now restoring roads, which are all available now to the public.

The Regional Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (Chiang Rai) in cooperation with the Local Health Promotion Hospital has opened an aid center at Ban Huai San Yao School, providing mobile drinking water facilities for the people and have cleared damaged structures.

Also, the Chiang Rai Public Health Office has teamed up with medical experts to heal those who have had psychological damage from the incident, while Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital is available to all of the public. The Chiang Rai Province Army has assisted the public as well.

The overall damage occurred in 7 districts affecting 8,509 houses, 99 temples, 7 churches, 46 schools, 1 university, 33 government buildings, 1 hotel, 6 individual companies, 4 bridges, 5 streets, 2 community buildings, and 1 village plumbing system.

The Department of Mental Health has discovered that around 200 people in Chiang Rai were severely stressed after having been traumatized by the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that struck the province on Monday, and some of them were at risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder.

Department director-general Chetsada Chokdamrongsuk said mental health crisis assessment and treatment teams (MCATT) have been dispatched from Suan Prung hospital in Chiang Mai to assist the MCATT teams already working in Mae Lao and Phan districts of Chiang Rai, to augment the mental health response effort for the quake victims. Dr. Chetsada revealed that traumatized victims did not want to stay inside their homes, and panicked over rumors of the ground splitting apart or the Mae Suai Dam bursting. Such victims were sleep-deprived and had trouble breathing normally. He said most of the conditions should get better within 2 weeks to one month, if adequate assistance is provided to the sufferer.

Dr. Phongkasem Khaimuk, deputy director-general of the Mental Health Department, indicated that many of the cases of severe stress were in Mae Lao district, where some locals were still hesitating to approach the sites they were at when the quake struck.