PM orders food, toilets for Bangkok flood victims
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said on Sunday that he is doing everything possible to help people affected by flooding.
“I am doing my duty to the fullest. I feel sorry and concerned, and I am deeply worried about the people. I am trying to solve as many problems as possible,” Anutin said.
Anutin returned to Thailand on Sunday after cutting short an overseas mission and travelled directly to inspect flooding in the Ruam Phatthana community along the Prem Prachakorn Canal in Bang Khen district.
He said he had monitored the situation and coordinated with Thai officials while abroad before cancelling the rest of his overseas engagements to oversee the response in person.
He said the flooding was mainly caused by widespread and prolonged heavy rainfall that exceeded the drainage capacity of affected areas.
In Bangkok, the Defence and Agriculture ministries have deployed machinery, water pumps, trucks and boats to assist flood victims. Shelters have also been established, with bedridden patients, vulnerable people and elderly residents being moved to hospitals and other care facilities where necessary.
Anutin said provincial governors in flood-hit areas had been given greater authority to make decisions and respond quickly.
Additional funding has also been made available to provinces officially declared disaster areas, allowing governors to approve spending and address urgent local problems.
During his visit to the Ruam Phatthana community, residents asked for portable toilets and more food.
Accompanying Anutin was Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt.
Anutin said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration would arrange portable toilets and instructed the Defence Ministry to set up a mobile kitchen in the community after residents complained that food distributed the previous day had been insufficient.
He also gave 3,000 baht to a meatball vendor to distribute food to residents and paid 10,000 baht to a made-to-order food shop and 5,000 baht to a noodle shop for the same purpose, saying residents should not have to wait for the mobile kitchen.
Anutin later visited a flood shelter at Waisali Anusorn School in Lak Si district, where he handed out donated supplies and met evacuees.
On compensation, Anutin said the existing criteria would remain in place because they are governed by laws and regulations.
He said he had already instructed the Minister of Digital Economy and Society and the director-general of the Meteorological Department, while he was still in London, to use clearer language in public warnings.
He also pointed to encroachment along the Prem Prachakorn Canal as one of the factors contributing to flooding in areas along the canal.
For the longer term, Anutin said he plans to ask the Cabinet to approve a major drainage project linking Chai Nat, the Pasak River and the Gulf of Thailand.
The National Economic and Social Development Council has assessed the project as necessary and economically worthwhile, he said, adding that the Budget Bureau has set aside funding for the project in the 2027 fiscal year.
He also ordered flood-hit provinces to submit daily reports on relief operations, needs and obstacles to the Interior Ministry so the government can provide additional support quickly.
The government will use lessons from last year's flooding in Hat Yai in its recovery plans, he said, with restoration work to begin in each area as soon as floodwater recedes, rather than waiting for an entire city to dry out.
Anutin also said the Cabinet would suspend overseas travel by ministers until the flood situation returns to normal, including his own planned trips over the next two to three weeks.
“We will do everything within our ability to resolve the situation and restore normal life to the people as quickly as possible,” he said.
Anutin said he will also visit other flood-hit provinces, including Sa Kaeo, Prachin Buri, Nakhon Nayok, Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, to assess conditions and hear directly from provincial governors and officials dealing with the crisis.