Flood Prevention to Deal with Another Round of High Tides

(23/10/2011)

The Government has prepared flood prevention plans to cope with another round of high tides, which is likely to take place between 28 and 30 October 2011. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that the Royal Irrigation Department had worked out the plans, which involve water drainage, floodgate control, and the closure of certain dams to slow down water flow. She believed that these plans would be able to control the impact of high tides during the period. Fortunately, water levels in several flood-hit provinces have begun to decrease. The Government earlier issued an announcement to consolidate power on flood control under the 2007 Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act in order to deal effectively with the current flooding situation. A joint committee, comprising the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Royal Irrigation Department, has also been set up to manage water drainage more efficiently. The Prime Minister said that run-off from the North would pass through Bangkok and that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration had opened all sluice gates in order to drain water to the sea as quickly as possible. She urged Bangkok residents to move valuable and electrical items to higher ground to avoid damage from possible flooding. Since the flooding situation might persist for four to six weeks in many areas of the country, the Government has prepared several plans to improve the living conditions in various evacuation centers. The plans include occupational training and lesson teaching, aimed at generating employment for the affected people after the flood water recedes. The Government has arranged altogether 1,743 evacuation centers nationwide which can accommodate more than 800,000 people. About 113,000 affected people have so far stayed at these centers. In Bangkok, 158 schools in 24 districts have been designated temporary shelters. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance has set aside 50 billion baht to assist flood-hit small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) operators. Commercial banks will extend loans under this program, while the Small Business Credit Guarantee Corporation will guarantee not less than 30 percent of the amount of a loan.