BANGKOK, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- The Thai Government Housing Bank (GH Bank) announced on Tuesday that it will be offering seven emergency relief measures for people affected by the tropical storm Podul.
Chatchai Sirilai, the bank's president, said many provinces, especially in the North and Northeast, were affected by the storm, with many areas hit by flash floods that destroyed homes and farms.
"As part of its housing loans for natural disaster victims, the bank has earmarked 1 billion baht (32.6 million U.S. dollars) to provide individual loans based on the amount of damage caused by floods," said Chatchai.
Chatchai listed the seven measures to be implemented, including for the first measure, GH Bank will offer a respite to people who owe house loans or mortgages by bringing the annual interest rate down to zero percent for the first four months, and then raising it to 4.125 percent from the fifth to 16th month.
As the second measure, the bank will allow new and old home-loan holders to seek additional funds to repair damages at home. This loan will be provided at a fixed interest rate of 3 percent per year for three years, said Chatchai.
As the third measure, for debtors who are affected by the disaster and unable to make payments, the bank will bring the interest down to zero for the first four months, and then set the interest rate at 1 percent for the fifth to 16th month. Once this period ends, the debtors will have to pay the normal rate, among others.
According to Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) director-general Chayaphol Thitisak, tropical storm Podul drenched parts of the north, northeast and east of the country, causing flash floods and landslide in 13 provinces.
