LIVING IN A 'DISASTER ZONE'

A media report - which can be found online at http://www.todayonline.com/articles/135241.asp

Thailand has declared more than one third of the country, including Bangkok, a disaster zone as a precaution to help local officials battle bird flu. The cabinet also approved the creation of chicken "death squads" tasked with immediately killing any infected birds as well as all poultry within a one-kilometer (half-mile) radius of any future outbreaks.
"Cabinet today approved a declaration naming 29 provinces as disaster areas so that the government can carry out aggressive, offensive measures to clean up the bird flu outbreak," government spokesman Surapong Suebwonglee told reporters on Tuesday.

Personally speaking I have never lived in a 'disaster zone', and to be honest this is a massive exaggeration of what is actually happening here. If you ask the average Mr and Mrs Thai I think they would understand the risks of bird flu, but also understand that a move like this is going to do nothing at all for the economy and tourism industry in general.
If you're worried about coming to Thailand, don't be. Simple and sensible precautions that you would take in other parts of the world are going to stop you from coming even close to contracting bird flu. I wonder if this means I can claim danger money for living and working in a 'disatser zone'?