PM orders relevant agencies to be prepared for fresh rains

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered all relevant agencies to be prepared for a new round of rain from tomorrow through October 10, particularly in the central plains.

He said that satellite images show an intense rain cloud system over the South China Sea, which is moving towards Vietnam and then would reach Thailand tomorrow.

The prime minister chaired the meeting of the National Command for Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation today, during which he asked whether the director-general of the Meteorological Department was at the meeting or in Thailand, as he has not seen him.

Then, Natthawut Dandee stood up, saying the director-general has retired and he is the acting director-general.

The prime minister said there have been public complaints about the inaccuracy of weather forecasts, adding that the Meteorological Department should provide public clarifications to aid in understanding.

For Bangkok, he said that the BMA must speed up the drainage of water into the river and not worry about distributing food to affected people because several agencies, volunteer groups and the private sector are doing that job.

The command centre will meet every day to review the flood situation, said the prime minister as he emphasised the government’s determination to help people get through the crisis.