On March 4, 2019, at 01.50 p.m., a refugee woman in Ban Nupo camp, Umpang District, Tak Province, was cooking and then left her house. Later, fire broke out and neighbors cried for help. The Volunteer Unit came to put out the fire but due to strong wind, fire burned too fast so they had to pull down the leaf roof of houses around in order to prevent further fire spreading. The fire became under control at 03.00 p.m. It was found out that 86 houses were totally burned down, leaving 246 people homeless. 3 temples, 1 church building and 1 Thai villager’s house were also burned down.

   Government and private organizations together with shops in the camp, provided rice and lunchbox to the fire victims. COERR distributed 300 bottles of drinking water, dried food, and canned fish that was sufficient for 3 day consumption. In addition, COERR together with the Umpang Hospital unit and other organizations concerned conducted basic mental health assessment and screening for the affected population. It was revealed that the fire victims were a bit stressed but they were able to continue their normal life.

   Recreation programs were established in many areas in the camp for affected children so as to relieve their stress.

Visiting the Fire Victims and Attending the Coordinating Meeting