Thailand Unlikely to Face Excessive Flooding in 2012

(11/10/2012)

Thailand is unlikely to face prolonged and widespread floods in 2012. Even so, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has instructed the authorities concerned to monitor the situation closely. The Prime Minister, during the Cabinet meeting on 9 October 2012, thanked relevant agencies for their efficient water management in accordance with guidelines set by the Single Command Center. The Government established the Single Command Center to ensure that the 17 agencies responsible for natural disaster prevention and water management would be able to unify their operations. The center was established in the wake of the severe floods Thailand faced in 2011. In her speech made recently at an executive luncheon with American investors in New York, Prime Minister Yingluck pointed out that a short-term plan to protect businesses and investments from the 2012 rainy season was already in place. This not only included several layers of flood barriers protecting economic and industrial zones, but more importantly, the roads had been elevated to ensure that logistics and delivery of goods would not be disrupted. She explained that a single command center was in operation to ensure that everyone would be able to receive real-time information on the status of floods, weather forecasts, and advice on prevention. As for long-term flood prevention and building a comprehensive water management system, Thailand is currently in the process of international bidding, which will be transparent, fair, and based on domestic laws and regulations. The Minister of Science and Technology, Plodprasop Suraswadi, in his capacity as Chairman of the Water and Flood Management Committee, told the Cabinet meeting that the flooding situation in the Mae Klong River basin would return to normalcy by the end of October. He believed that no severe floods would take place in Thailand in 2012; only some flash floods might occur in the South. Meanwhile, the Department of Water Resources is preparing to set up rainwater measurement stations in watershed areas and foothills in five southern provinces, namely Surat Thani, Krabi, Chumphon, Phang-nga, and Ranong. The stations will send information about water volumes in vulnerable areas in the five provinces through satellite to the Department of Water Resources. Then community and village volunteers will be told to help give disaster warnings to local residents, in order to reduce damage caused by floods and landslides. The Department plans to set up rainwater measurement stations in 832 villages across the country in 2012, and the project will cover 4,427 villages by 2016. In other related news, the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning is seeking a budget to work out town planning for flood prevention on a long-term basis in 31 provinces in the Chao Phraya River basin. The project will be initially carried out in two pilot provinces, namely Ayutthaya in the central region and Phuket in the South. The town planning will include floodways and flood prevention areas, as well.