BANGKOK, Oct 6 – Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra today expressed concern over the flood situation in Prachin Buri and Chai Nat provinces and instructed concerned agencies to quickly provide help for flood victims.
The premier made remarks before she left Bangkok for Bali, Indonesia to attend the APEC 2013 summit that she has assigned Deputy Premier Plodprasob Surasawadee, as chairman of the Flood and Water Management Commission, to coordinate with Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department to urgently provide help to flood victims.
She expressed confidence that this year’s amount of water is not as much as in 2011 when the country faced its worst flooding in recent history.
She noted that only some areas, such as Prachin Buri’s Kabin Buri district, received a large amount of water resulting from rainfall.
For the Chai Nat’s floods, the premier said she has instructed the governor to inspect damages in affected areas and provide assistance to the victim.
However, the premier pointed out that the areas which have been affected by water released from Pasak Chonlasit Dam is quite worrying and that she asked relevant agencies to closely monitor the situation.
The Royal Irrigation Department is also monitoring the flood situation and the amount of water in large dams. The agency will work with the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration on water release plan in case of any emergency.
Meanwhile, heavy overnight rains has caused forest runoff in the northern province of Lampang this morning, and 150 houses in seven villages of the provincial seat were inundated up to one to two metres deep. Many of them failed to move their belongings to higher ground in time, and a rice mill was also damaged as about 100 tonnes of paddy and sticky rice were under floodwater.
The Meteorological Department announced today that there is an active low pressure over the upper Gulf of Thailand near Prachuap Kiri Khan, and expected it will make landfall tomorrow. A stronger southwest monsoon is prevailing over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, so torrential rain, as well as isolated heavy to very heavy rain, is likely over the areas. Locals should beware of severe weather during 6-8 October in provinces including Rayong, Chanthaburi, Trat, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Ranong, Phang-nga and Phuket.
During 7-11 October, another high pressure system from China will cover the upper North, leading to a drop in temperature and cool weather in the morning in the area, starting in the Northeast.
