Three ministers assigned to oversee flood response in southern region

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul chaired the meeting of the Command Centre for Public Disaster Prevention and Mitigation this morning as usual, but he told those attending that, this week, he will be busy with the IMF-World Bank meetings, but the Command Centre will continue to monitor the flood situation nationwide.

He said that he has assigned Transport Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Deputy Transport Minister Sanphet Bunyamanee and Deputy Interior Minister Worasit Liangprasit to oversee the flood situation and response plans in high-risk areas in the southern region.

He said that the southernmost provinces of Songkhla, Phatthalung, Satun and Trang are prone to frequent flooding, adding that the government has allocated about 800 million baht for the improvement of the Rama 1 Canal in Songkhla to boost drainage capacity.

Meanwhile, Deputy Government Spokesperson Lalida Periswiwatana said flood situation in Ayutthaya has improved and floodwaters have receded after the Royal Irrigation Department adjusted the discharge of water through the Chao Phraya Dam to 1,900m3/s, from 2,000m3/s.

For the western region, she said the flooding in Phetchaburi was caused by river overflows while, in Kanchanaburi, the water level in Mae Klong river basin remains stable with river overflows in some areas.

Flooding in Bang Pakong district of Chachoengsao was caused by high tides and the Royal Thai Navy has deployed water pushers to drain water away.

In Bangkok, only one area, near the Klong Sam Wa Bridge, is flooded to a depth of about 15cm.