Thai Government issues disaster crisis warning

BANGKOK, 21 October 2011 (NNT) – The Government of Thailand has issued a warning of disaster crisis, in accordance with the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act, Section 31, to ensure that efforts to solve the flood problem will be done in unison.

After Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra convened a meeting with agencies related to water control and management such as the Thai Armed Forces Headquarters and the Royal Irrigation Department today, she issued a warning of disaster crisis in line with the 2007 Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act, Section 31, in an attempt to facilitate every sector to work with unity.

The official written version of the warning will be released afterwards. The key mission of the flood resolution is to quickly drain water eastward into the sea. In the mission, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has cooperated to take charge of controlling the opening and closure of sluice gates and the direction of water flow to make both factors become well-related. In addition, the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces were ordered to be responsible for guarding important places such as the Grand Palace, the royally-initiated embankments, power plants, waterworks offices, Siriraj Hospital, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang Airports around the clock. Security guards and police officers will be stationed to watch for any danger in every place and report to the Flood Relief Operations Center (FROC) every two hours.

As for transports, constant vigilance is kept on the traffic, particularly on main routes such as tollways, roads used for transporting goods, and roads connecting to the inner city, as well as sky trains, train stations and bus stations. Additional flood relief centers will also be established, using high buildings, especially government offices, schools and military units as temporary shelters. These centers will be labeled with distinctive signs and promoted among the public.