Surin Governor Declares “War Disaster Zone”

Province elevates border conflict status to disaster level, equivalent to flood or earthquake, to ensure close support for affected civilians.

Surin governor Chamnan Chuenta issued an urgent directive on Sunday to all district chiefs, the president of the Surin Provincial Administrative Organisation, and the mayor of Surin Municipality in response to the escalating violence along the Thai-Cambodian border.

The order follows continuous and increasingly intense armed clashes along the border areas of Buachet, Sangkha, Kap Choeng, and Phanom Dong Rak districts. 

The attacks, involving various types of weapons, have reportedly targeted not only military positions but also vital civilian infrastructure such as health centres, petrol stations, convenience stores, and residential communities.Directive to prepare for disaster response

Under the directive, local administrative organisations (LAOs) have been instructed to maintain public order in accordance with their statutory duties, and to give the highest priority to safeguarding the lives and property of residents in the affected border areas.

The directive further classifies any cross-border clashes that result in injury, death, or damage to public or private property as a “disaster” under Section 4 of the 2007 Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act. This designation enables LAOs to activate emergency response mechanisms and allocate relief funding in line with Clause 5 of the 2019 Ministry of Finance regulations on emergency expenditure.Accordingly, LAOs are authorised to disburse funds under the 2023 Ministry of Interior regulation concerning local government spending for public assistance. Relevant provisions include Clauses 7, 19(1), and 21, in conjunction with the 2020 framework for the use of emergency contingency funds.

Each LAO is legally responsible for disaster prevention and mitigation within its jurisdiction. The local chief executive is designated as the local director of disaster response and is tasked with assisting the provincial and district-level directors in executing coordinated emergency measures as assigned.

In the event of a emergency or disaster, LAOs are authorised to utilise funds from the central contingency reserves within their annual budgets. This is in accordance with Clause 18 of the 2020 Ministry of Interior regulation governing LAO budgeting procedures.

Should these contingency funds prove insufficient, LAOs may proceed under Clause 100 of the 2023 Ministry of Interior regulation on local financial management. This provision allows local executives to approve the use of reserve funds beyond budgeted allocations, provided the decision is based on necessity and takes into account the LAO’s overall financial and fiscal position.

Furthermore, the directive addresses support for displaced persons who have fled affected areas and entered neighbouring jurisdictions. LAOs are empowered to provide assistance for basic subsistence under the 2020 guidelines on the use of emergency funds, provided such aid does not overlap with that offered by other agencies. All assistance efforts must be reported to supervising authorities for review and legal compliance.

(2025/07/28-00:00)