CityNews – Dr. Rungsrit ‘Mong’ Kanjanavanit, a physician at Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, and a well-known environmental activist, shared a picture of a mock up of an emergency declaration stating:
With the power of citizen, [ I ] declares Chiang Mai and nearby provinces to be a disaster area
Announced on 23rd March 2019 (the day [ I ] am about to die by breathing)
Signed
Citizen who pays taxes
Dr. Mong also revealed that the Public Health Office has demanded to declare such a statement but they were opposed by the Ministry of Interior, which was concerned over the impact on tourism.