ID :
211543
Thu, 10/06/2011 - 12:42
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http://m.oananews.org//node/211543
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Nearly 30 Thai provinces remain flooded
BANGKOK, October 6 (TNA) - The Ministry of Interior's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported on Thursday that 28 Thai provinces remain flooded, affecting some 820,000 households in 201 districts, as the country's flood-related fatalities have risen to 244 totally since late July; while three have remained missing.
Pipatchai Piboon, Spokesman of the department's emergency operational centre, acknowledged that the water situation at Thailand's main Bhumibol Dam is now worrying, as water inflows catered by the dam has already increased to 97 per cent of its full capacity, prompting authorities concerned to have released water from the dam up to some 100 million cubic metres daily.
The spokesman cautioned that urban areas in Thailand's northwestern Tak Province, where the Bhumibol Dam is located, is likely to face a new round of floods over the next couple of days subsequently, followed by other downstream provinces, including Nakhon Sawan, Chainat, Singburi, Lop Buri and Ayutthaya over the next seven days, saying that agencies concerned have prepared evacuation plans under which people in areas at risk can be moved to safe places within three hours.
According to the spokesman, the Thai Ministry of Interior has instructed the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) to ensure sufficient power for flood-evacuees at their temporary shelters; while Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered the military to cooperate with the government on relief operations and to conduct an immediate survey to see whether the country's main dams are now strong enough to cope with immense water flows.
The spokesman said that the Thai government has now launched a hotline, 1784, to receive flood-related complaints 24 hours and has decided to hold a press conference at 10:30am everyday, even on public holidays, to report the country's updated inundations to the public until the situation returns to normal.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has instructed concerned agencies under its jurisdiction to be on high alert around the clock to deal with possible floods in the capital, as water inflows catered by the country's main Chao Phraya River have already exceeded 4,397 cubic metres per second with its highest water level measured in the city's Pak Klong Talad area on Wednesday night reaching 1.70 metres above the mean sea level. (TNA)
Pipatchai Piboon, Spokesman of the department's emergency operational centre, acknowledged that the water situation at Thailand's main Bhumibol Dam is now worrying, as water inflows catered by the dam has already increased to 97 per cent of its full capacity, prompting authorities concerned to have released water from the dam up to some 100 million cubic metres daily.
The spokesman cautioned that urban areas in Thailand's northwestern Tak Province, where the Bhumibol Dam is located, is likely to face a new round of floods over the next couple of days subsequently, followed by other downstream provinces, including Nakhon Sawan, Chainat, Singburi, Lop Buri and Ayutthaya over the next seven days, saying that agencies concerned have prepared evacuation plans under which people in areas at risk can be moved to safe places within three hours.
According to the spokesman, the Thai Ministry of Interior has instructed the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) to ensure sufficient power for flood-evacuees at their temporary shelters; while Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has ordered the military to cooperate with the government on relief operations and to conduct an immediate survey to see whether the country's main dams are now strong enough to cope with immense water flows.
The spokesman said that the Thai government has now launched a hotline, 1784, to receive flood-related complaints 24 hours and has decided to hold a press conference at 10:30am everyday, even on public holidays, to report the country's updated inundations to the public until the situation returns to normal.
Meanwhile, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has instructed concerned agencies under its jurisdiction to be on high alert around the clock to deal with possible floods in the capital, as water inflows catered by the country's main Chao Phraya River have already exceeded 4,397 cubic metres per second with its highest water level measured in the city's Pak Klong Talad area on Wednesday night reaching 1.70 metres above the mean sea level. (TNA)
