BANGKOK, April 16 – Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Monday chaired a meeting of the National Water Resources and Flood Policy Committee to follow up her government’s water management plan, its budget allocation for water projects and the locations designated as water retention areas.
Minister of Science and Technology Plodprasop Suraswadi, committee head, said the premier called a special meeting on water management plan particularly the progress of projects with allocations of Bt20 billion, Bt350 billion and Bt120 billion respectively.
The meeting discussed projects under the eight measures to prevent floods, he said. Some need more clarification and fine tuning as some implementing agencies have not yet clearly determined their paths to completion.
He said the premier will revisit the projects soon to inspect and follow up water management plans upstream, midstream and downstream.
The meeting was to discuss the sites of 3 million rai designated as water retention areas and compensation for affected residents, he said.
The minister said that the earthquake warning system was also on the agenda although the tsunami warning system after the massive April 11 earthquake off Indonesia resulted in satisfactorily with effective evacuations in the Andaman region.
Residents of southern Thailand’s six Andaman coastal provinces ran from their homes and workplaces last Wednesday after a massive earthquake off Indonesia’s western coast triggered a tsunami warning for countries across the Indian Ocean.
Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Centre issued an evacuation order to residents in the six provinces — Ranong, Satun, Trang as well as the popular tourist destinations of Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga — shortly after the US Geological Survey announced that the 8.6-magnitude quake struck off Indonesia’s Aceh province.
Minor improvements of the communication system was needed to make the system more effective, Mr Plodprasop said.
