The Royal Thai Army has mobilized troops to practice relief operations drills to fully prepare to help civilians as more natural disasters are expected to be triggered by the La Nina phenomenon, Army Commander-in Chief Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratkalin said here Thursday.

``This year downpours of rain have come sooner than usual, and the La Nina  phenomenon is likely to cause more rainfalls,`` Gen. Sonthi said.

He said he had ordered drills to ready the country's soldiers to help the people in time of disaster.

The army chief said that natural disasters are now occurring in every province, and that all military units must be ready at all time to help people.

As for the continuing operations in northern provinces in the aftermath of the devastating floods and mudslides, Gen. Sonthi said that the Royal Thai Army's third  Army Area Command, responsible for the North, had moved in its heavy machinery and personnel to help rebuild homes and other structures heavily damaged by the floods.

Initially, the army engineers and suppoprt troops have started reclamation and restoration in some devastated areas as the floodwaters are receding.

If needed, Gen. Sonthi said, additional military forces and machinery from the First Army Area Command in central Thailand and the Second Army Area Command in the Northeast would be sent to the flood-hit North.

In the meantime, the Royal Thai Army's Fourth Army Area Command has been ordered to be ready to tackle heavy floods that will possibly hit the South later this year as predicted in the forecasts.
 
The army and the government's disaster prevention and mitigation centres in all the southern provinces would jointly plan and determine measures to deal with the situation, the army chief said.

Source