Military, local government and national agencies would integrate operations to handle flooding from the aftermath of a major typhoon striking the area under disaster-response plans proposed for Chonburi Province.
Representatives from more than 50 departments and agencies met July 20 at Royal Thai Marine Corps headquarters in Sattahip to discuss response to storm surge from a typhoon packing winds of 178-209 kilometers per hour.
Local government and military officials begin a meeting to discuss a joint typhoon storm surge response plan.
Kobchai Bun-orana, head of the military’s Disaster Protection and Mitigation division, said the best response plan would see civilian and military personnel work together in the event a typhoon corresponding to a Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale was to strike the area.
Storm surge from such a typhoon could run as much as 3.7 meters, swamping large parts of Samae San and other coastal regions along the Gulf of Thailand, he said.
Chonburi Deputy Gov. Pakarathon Thianchai said it was gratifying to hear the Royal Thai Army’s Department of Civil Affairs is suggesting military and civilian departments join forces. Planning for disasters, even for those unlikely as a Category 3 hurricane, will ease the minds of coastal residents and help civilian agencies understand their roles in emergencies, he said.
