Thread: Yingluck to meet governors of nine flood-ravaged provinces

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Despite floods wreaking havoc in almost 30 provinces, Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra continues to insist the capital will escape the worst of the deluge.

Then why is he praying to the river goddess?

How high's the water , mama . Johnny Cash

Factories inundated

October 9, 2011 1:03 am

At least 20 plants affected as flood waters breach Ayutthaya estate wall

Many factories in the Rojana Industrial Park of flood-hit Ayutthaya were heavily inundated yesterday evening after a section of a six-metre-high earth-filled embankment collapsed under high water pressure.

Efforts to repair the two-metre-long collapsed section continued into the night.

A Honda Automobile (Thailand) factory, which is located right in front of the damaged section, was the first to be hit by the rushing flood waters. The Honda factory was under 30 centimetres of water.

Another 20 factories in the industrial estate also got flooded. The estate, in the province's Uthai district, houses some 200 factories that mostly manufacture automotive parts and electronic products, according to a reporter.

Soldiers, rescue workers, and factory employees were racing against time to rebuild the damaged section of the embankment with sandbags.

Estimated damage was not known last night and unauthorised personnel were not allowed inside the factory compound.

Earlier, finished cars from the Honda factory had already been moved elsewhere and part of the factory's production line was suspended due to fears of flooding.

Armed forces get SOS

The Nation on Sunday October 9, 2011 1:07 am



Govt command orders military and police to assist in flood rescue effort

The Flood-Relief Operations Command (FROC) yesterday issued its first order to the military and police commanders in flood-ravaged provinces to urgently mobilise personnel and resources and evacuate people, protect their belongings and provide medical treatment until the floods subside.

A total of 253 people have been killed by the country's worst floods in 20 years, which have wreaked havoc in 30 provinces, mostly in the central and northern regions. About 8 million rai of farmland are expected to be destroyed, along with 9 million fish in farms.

Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok, director of FROC, said the flood situation has reached a crisis and the worst is yet to come. Downstream provinces near the Chao Phraya Dam and Bangkok will be hard hit by floods from October 15-17 as impending storms are expected to coincide with high tides in the sea.

He instructed Ayutthaya Governor Withaya Piewpong to restore the province's economic zones that have been hit by flooding. The FROC suggested that 7,000 trucks of pebbles be used to build an embankment so as to prevent floods from damaging industrial estates in Ayutthaya.

Withaya said fast-moving units of Navy and Army officials used boats and GMCs to evacuate people from flooded areas to state offices. He said that although more flood victims were pouring into the flood-relief centres, there was enough food and water for them.

Pathum Thani Governor Peerasak Hinmuangkao said the province was trying its best to reinforce embankments and prevent flood waters from reaching Bangkok. However, it was facing shortages of sand and bags. He called for donations of the two items, and also sought volunteers to put the sand in the bags.About 300 prisoners were deployed in the relief operation.
Pracha said the major problem was the shortage of bags, not sand.

Peerasak said he would ask Thammasat University's Rangsit campus, Future Park Rangsit and Zeer Rangsit Department Stores to allow the use of their parking areas for cars.

Angthong Governor Wissawa Sasitmit said most residents in his province were refusing to be evacuated as they did not want to abandon their homes and assets, even though the water levels were rising steadily. He said some victims had taken refuge on the Asia Road to escape the flooding, causing traffic jams on the highway.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the government is addressing the flood crisis to the best of its ability and had declared it as a national agenda that needed coordinated efforts from every sector.

She said she had instructed five provincial governors to release flood water into the sea during the low-tide period from October 6-12, before the arrival of more storms exacerbates the flood situation. However, the Chao Phraya and Bang Pakong rivers were at high levels, compelling water to be released slowly.

Manat Panuam, head of Uthai Thani's Tambon Nerncheng Administrative Organisation, said few people agreed to be temporarily evacuated from their homes. They have been gradually moving their belongings to higher parts of their homes, almost reaching the rooftop. Some wanted to stay put in their homes to protect their machinery and tractors.

Motorists using the Phaholyothin Highway heading to the North were yesterday stuck in a traffic jam extending to several kilometres as people in Nakhon Sawan took refuge on the road, bringing hundreds of motorcycles with them.

Democrats launch relief caravan for Ayutthaya victims

The Nation on Sunday October 9, 2011 1:01 am



The Democrat Party, led by former premier Abhisit Vejjajiva, has launched a caravan to distribute assistance to flood victims in Ayutthaya and other areas.

Some 500 relief bags were given to victims in affected areas along with dried food. Bottles of drinking water were distributed to Muslim communities. Abhisit said many people are under stress due to the severe flooding.

Bangkok Post : Scared city folk prepare for the worst

• Published: 9/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Bangkokians got into full flood preparedness mode on Saturday, as city residents started stockpiling food supplies and moving their vehicles to safe ground.

ROADS AWASH: Commuters catch a taxi near Kaset intersection in front of Kasetsart University on Saturday. The area was flooded by heavy rain late on Friday night. PHOTO: THITI WANNAMONTHA

The overnight rainfall which caused flooding in some parts of the city, coupled with Friday's national address by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra admitting that the government was almost at its wits' end to deal with the nationwide flood disaster, created a climate of concern in the capital.

Prime Minister: Bangkok safe - for now

Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra called an emergency meeting of concerned agencies Saturday to map out evacuation plans and set up temporary shelters.

Water released from major dams in the North is expected to arrive in Bangkok next week. The most worrying time will be between Oct 16 and 18 when the northern waterflow combined with the high tide and projected heavy rainfall could cause severe flooding in the city, MR Sukhumbhand said.

"I don't want to see any deaths, so we have to be well prepared,'' he said.

Flood surveillance will focus on 27 communities situated outside the flood prevention wall on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River and the eastern part of Bangkok, including Min Buri, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang and Klong Sam Wa districts.

Authorities will also keep a close watch on flood-prone areas such as Vibhavadi Rangsit and Rarm Intra roads.

District offices will act as emergency response centres during the crisis, while Bangkok Metropolitan Administration-run schools will be used as shelters.

City Hall also sent staff to work with officials in the neighbouring province of Pathum Thani to strengthen flood barriers. City officials fear that floodwater from the province could overflow Bangkok's Don Muang, Lak Si and Sai Mai districts without proper management.

Sanya Cheenimit, director of the City Hall's Drainage and Sewerage Department, Saturday said water levels in the Bangkok section of the Chao Phraya River rose to 2.03m, which was still below the 2.5m high flood prevention wall.

The flood warning has prompted many Bangkok residents to stockpile food and drinking water.

Supermarkets were crowded Saturday with shoppers flocking to buy supplies both for their own consumption and for donations.

Krissada Srisiri, a 34-year-old engineer who lives in On Nut, bought 25 bags of rice at Lotus Rama IV, as he feared there may be a rice shortage during the crisis.

Office worker Benjawan Janthong, 44, bought dozens of bottles of water to store at her Sukhumvit house.

Free parking spaces provided by state and private agencies and department stores reportedly filled within hours of opening to residents of flood-prone areas.

Justice Minister Pracha Promnok, who has been appointed the director of the National Flood Relief Centre, said the flood disaster was a national crisis.

The centre has asked the army to send some 100,000 sandbags to Pathum Thani to increase the height of the flood prevention wall there in a bid to safeguard northern Bangkok from flooding.

The centre, located at Don Mueang airport, opened Saturday. Over 20,000 flood-affected people called the 1111 hotline within hours of its opening.

The centre's chief of operations, Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, urged MR Sukhumbhand to help speed up water drainage from flood-ravaged provinces in the Central Plains into the Gulf of Thailand.

The government and the BMA were still not cooperating well enough in terms of water gate management, he said.

Mr Plodprasop said around 1,000 boats would be deployed near the Chao Phraya estuary tomorrow in an operation to push water into the sea. This measure should also ease the deluge in the Central Plains, he said.


Writer: Supoj Wancharoen & Apiradee Treeratkuarkul

From Twitter:

TAN_Network TAN News Network

Democrat leader Abhisit offers to PM to head set up of flood evacuation center in BKK and restructure communication regarding flooding
2 hours ago



tulsathit tulsathit

PM: Northern and eastern Bkk vulnerable. Be prepared, but don't panic.
41 minutes ago

RT [at]veen_NT: PM Yingluck will address nation on crisis onTV pool at 8.30 pm RT [at]tukky_nt #Thaiflood
26 minutes ago

tulsathit tulsathit

TR [at]wannasiri_: This photo, taken 20 mins ago, sums up downtown Ayutthaya yfrog.com/kk65940450j

Floods devastate Thailand and Cambodia - Asia-Pacific - Al Jazeera English

Floods devastate Thailand and Cambodia

Thai PM forced to postpone official visits as death toll hits 250 while in neighbouring Cambodia at least 160 are dead.

Last Modified: 09 Oct 2011 09:22


Cambodia fears communicable diseases could spread in the floods' aftermath [Reuters]

Deadly floods have wreaked havoc in Thailand and Cambodia, severing rail links and damaging highways, and sparking fears of a potential spread of water-borne and communicable diseases.

Thai officials say at least 253 people have been killed since the worst monsoon rains in decades started in the past two months while in Cambodia at least 169 people have been killed.

"We worry that after the flood there will be an outbreak of severe diarrhoea," Cambodia's ministry of health official Ly Sovann said, according to the Phnom Penh Post.

"We need people to pay attention to their hygiene and sanitation, especially clean drinking water," the official said, adding that dysentery was another potential threat.

The ministry has already distributed chlorine tablets used to clean drinking water at district level for those affected by the floods, the Post reported.

Yingluck Shinawatra, the Thai prime minister, said the floods had reached a crisis level and forced her to postpone official visits to Singapore and Malaysia.

Yingluck was scheduled to fly to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively as part of an introductory tour of the region after coming to power in August.

"The trips are postponed due to the floods," Titima Chaisaeng, a government spokesman, told the AFP news agency on Sunday.

The floods have severed rail links with the north, shut dozens of highways and swamped ancient Buddhist temples in the city of Ayutthaya.

Eight million affected

Thailand's disaster prevention department said eight million people in 60 of the country's 77 provinces had been affected by floods and mudslides since late July, and three million acres of agricultural land had been damaged.

This past week in Ayutthaya, north of the capital Bangkok, Japanese car giant Honda suspended production for one week after parts factories were submerged.

Sukhumbhand Paribatra, Bangkok's governor, called an emergency meeting of concerned agencies on Saturday to map out evacuation plans and set up temporary shelters.

Water released from major dams in the north was expected to arrive in Bangkok next week, the Bangkok Post reported, quoting Sukhumbhand.

It added that the most worrying time would be between October 16 and 18 when the northern waterflow combined with the high tide and projected heavy rainfall could cause severe flooding in the city.

"I don't want to see any [more] deaths, so we have to be well prepared," Sukhumbhand said.

Flood surveillance will focus on 27 communities situated outside the flood prevention wall on the eastern bank of the Chao Phraya River and the eastern part of Bangkok, including Min Buri, Nong Chok, Lat Krabang and Klong Sam Wa districts, the paper reported.

Southeast Asia has been hit by severe weather conditions in the past couple of months.

In the Philippines, rescue workers have been struggling to evacuate tens of thousands of people trapped in their homes amid fears of floods in the aftermath of Typhoon Nalgae.

Hundreds of people have been killed in China and Japan from prolonged monsoon flooding, typhoons and storms.

Thai PM scraps foreign trips amid flood crisis | Inquirer News

Thai PM scraps foreign trips amid flood crisis

Agence France-Presse
6:13 pm | Sunday, October 9th, 2011


CANCELED VISITS A man fishes near a sleeping Buddha statue submerged in the floods at Lokayasutharam temple in Ayutthaya province, central Thailand Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011. Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has postpone official visits to Singapore and Malaysia, a spokeswoman said on Sunday, October 9, 2011, as Bangkok braces for rising waters. AP Photo/Sunti Tehpia

BANGKOK—Thailand’s worst floods in decades have prompted the country’s premier to postpone official visits to Singapore and Malaysia, a spokeswoman said on Sunday, as Bangkok braces for rising waters.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra last week described the flooding, which has left more than 250 people dead and inundated huge swathes of the kingdom, as a “serious crisis” and warned that the capital would not escape unscathed.

She was scheduled to fly to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively as part of an introductory tour of the region after coming to power in August.

“The trips are postponed due to the floods,” government spokeswoman Titima Chaisaeng told AFP.

More than two months of heavy rains have deluged provinces across northern and central Thailand and damaged the homes or livelihoods of millions of people, particularly farmers, according to the government.

Huge efforts are now under way to stop the waters from reaching low-lying Bangkok, home to 12 million people, prompting pleas from some residents north of the city for sluice gates to be raised to release floodwater.

Thailand’s ancient capital Ayutthaya, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northeast and upriver of the capital, has seen increasingly serious flooding in recent days after being partially waterlogged for several weeks.

Historic temples have been swamped and a large industrial estate, home to a slew of Japanese electronics and auto parts makers including car giant Honda, has started to flood.

Authorities are evacuating some 200 patients from Ayutthaya’s hospital, according to Science and Technology minister Plodparsob Suraswadi, who signaled a new emphasis on moving people out of the path of flooding in provinces outside Bangkok.

“The plan will be focused on evacuation rather than fighting floods,” he said.

Large amounts of run-off water is expected to reach Bangkok in mid-October, while high tides will make it harder for the floods to flow out to sea. More storms are also expected.

Thailand's flood death toll reaches 261, 2.3 mln affected

Thailand's flood death toll reaches 261, 2.3 mln affected

English.news.cn
2011-10-09 13:50:46

BANGKOK, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported on Sunday that flooding situation still continued in 30 provinces, making flood death toll 261 with four missing.

Wibul Sanguanpong, director-general of the department, said those 30 provinces still facing floods included Sukhothai, Phichit, Nakhon Sawan, Uthai Thani, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Ang Thong, Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Saraburi, Suphan Buri, Nakhon Pathom, Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Nakhon Nayok, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak in central region, Ubon Ratchathani, Khon Kaen, Si Sa Ket, Surin, Roi-et, Nakhon Ratchasima, Buri Ram in northeastern region, Prachin Buri in eastern region and northern Chiang Mai provinces.

Approximately 2.34 million people in 10,130 villages have been hit by flood waters.

In one of the most affected Ayudhaya, an ancient city in central plain, authorities have begun to evacuate patients from Ayutthaya Hospital, where flood waters rose over two meters high.

Most of the 600 patients were being evacuated to the city hall while those requiring intensive medical care would be flown to hospitals in Bangkok by helicopters, according to the department.

The country is among the South East Asian countries -- Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam, which have been lashed by tropical storms and heavy monsoon-triggered rains. Since July 25, the country continues to suffer from widespread floods, which was said the worst since 1995.

tulsathit tulsathit

TR [at]wannasiri_: Rapid streams on highway heading Bangpahan, Ayutthaya yfrog.com/h6mynaxgj yfrog.com/h6i3biaj

Originally Posted by StrontiumDog

Thai PM scraps foreign trips amid flood crisis

why ? obviously an emergency trip to Dubai is warranted with the current crisis

Bangkok Post : Yingluck says Chao Phraya rising

Yingluck says Chao Phraya rising

• Published: 9/10/2011 at 08:43 PM
• Online news:

In a national broadcast on TV Pool, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the Chao Phraya River will rise by another 20 centimetres. The deluge reach Nakhon Sawan by Oct 12 and stay high for one week.

Ms Yingluck says she has instructed all canals in Bangkok to be dredged within 10 days instead of one month as originally planned. All personnel and equipment including help from armed forces will do this urgent job so that water can be pumped along klongs to the sea.

She warns Ayutthaya residents to brace for rising water and more floods. Bangkok residents not in protected areas must move their belongings to high ground right now.

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Bangkok Post : Yingluck, military tackle floods

Yingluck, military tackle floods

• Published: 9/10/2011 at 08:09 PM
• Online news:

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra invited defence minister and all armed forces chiefs for a discussion this afternoon to coordinate flood reliefs and prevention.

The priority is to help those trapped in floods to safer places and given food and water.

About prevention, Ms Yingluck says the government cannot prevent floods in all areas as there is too much water. Only those areas that can be prevented will be strengthened, while in other areas people will be evacuated to high grounds such as temporary refuge centres or even army barracks in Saraburi.

In Bangkok itself, the government will deploy upto 700,000 sandbags to strengthen flood prevention walls, but those outside the walls must be prepared to move things to high grounds.

The Nation updates...click the link for the article....

Govt, manufacturers to discuss assistance
Industry Ministry officials will meet today with manufacturers and private-sector representatives, including the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and the Thai Chamber of Commerce, to evaluate the impact of flooding on the industrial sector and how...



Prepare to evacuate: PM
Yingluck to govt agencies: Make plans now to move people to places where aid can be delivered easily



Evacuation centres ready: city officials
Bangkok prepared to face deluge: Sukhumbhand



Ayutthaya hospital patients airlifted
An emergency evacuation of patients from the heavily flooded Ayutthaya general hospital is underway and expected to be completed within two days. Hospital outpatient services have been suspended.

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Ayutthaya only reachable by boat

Ayutthaya only reachable by boat

The Nation October 10, 2011 11:03 am



Heavily inundated Ayutthaya appeared all but unreachable by land last night as water levels there made roads impassable even to military trucks - the only vehicles that had still been able to make it through.

Flooding was expected to peak last night, preventing trooptransport trucks from using Route 32 - the main road linking Ayutthaya with neighbouring provinces and Bangkok - which has long been closed to smaller vehicles. Authorities were considering transporting relief supplies and people to and from Ayutthaya by boat.

People travelling from Bangkok to Chai Nat via Ayutthaya are advised to use Route 340 through Suphan Buri, which is now the only route still open.

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Poor rating for govt relief efforts

Poor rating for govt relief efforts

The Nation October 10, 2011 11:03 am



The government has not done enough to help Thais battle the country's worst floods in 20 years, according to results of two out of three surveys released yesterday.

Among those surveyed by Abac Poll, 79 per cent said the government's support was insufficient and not distributed efficiently; and 68.6 per cent said the floodrelief supplies themselves did not sufficiently meet victims' needs.

The poll surveyed 1,012 community leaders and local officials in 10 flooded provinces.

Only 25.5 per cent of those surveyed by Dusit Poll were satisfied with the support provided by the government to those affected by flooding.

In a survey by Rangsit University, however, 62 per cent of respondents had confidence in Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her leadership in tackling the crisis; 59.8 per cent had faith in her Cabinet; and 80 per cent had confidence in the Thai people to cooperate in dealing with the problem. The survey was conducted from October 46 on 1,080 people in Bangkok and floodaffected provinces.

MP proposes pay cut for lawmakers

MP proposes pay cut for lawmakers

The Nation October 10, 2011 2:01 am


Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said he would propose his idea to cut MPs' salaries to help flood victims in the party meeting today.

"We are elected by the people, so we should give them our support when they have problems," he said.

Prompong said the idea would start with his party and if passed he would put the idea to the whole of the House.

Chart Pattana Puea Pandin party leader and Industry Minister Wannarat Channukul agreed with the idea. "I and my party are ready," he said.

^ Why do this? For what? In 3 weeks the rains will be over, so are they going to take a 3 week cut or a much longer one, or does it depends on how much flooding there is, as people are going to have problems for a very long time? And then if their salary is cut, where will the money go? Not that it would be a lot anyway....

Far better that this guy and other MP's got off their plump asses and did some physical work, like helping with building barriers, moving people, rescue effort etc etc.

Perhaps they could offer the use some of their nice big cars as makeshift transport or even ambulances or they could be added to the flood prevention barriers? Or the use of their land/houses for those who have lost everything, temporary accommodation would be most useful?

Bangkok Post : Rice stock freed to ease shortage

Rice stock freed to ease shortage

• Published: 10/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The Commerce Ministry will release 100,000 to 200,000 tonnes of rice from government stocks for sale to consumers to help address shortages in flood-stricken areas.


Residents eat noodles at a roadside stall in downtown Ayutthaya as floodwaters rose on Saturday night. PATIPAT JANTHONG

The rice, to be sold under the ministry's Blue Flag brand, will be packaged into five-kilogramme bags for sale over the next one or two weeks.

The ministry is also working with rice packers to release inventories, and has warned that any firms found to be withholding stocks could face criminal charges carrying up to seven years' jail and fines of up to 140,000 baht.

It is also concerned about reports of price gouging in flooded areas, and could ask staff to investigate.

Retail stores across the Central Plains and outer Bangkok have reported dwindling stocks of bottled water, canned and packaged food and other consumer goods due to stockpiling by households worried about the floods.

Disruptions on key roads and in logistics networks has also had an impact on the transport of goods from distribution centres to retail stores.

Yanyong Phuangrach, the commerce permanent secretary, said the Internal Trade Department will liaise with local consumer goods manufacturers about the possibility of increasing their shipments to stores in greater Bangkok and other provinces.

Commerce Ministry officials, led by Commerce Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong, yesterday distributed aid packages to flood victims in Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Saraburi and Ayutthaya.

Many voiced complaints about price gouging for key items such as life vests, rowboats, canned food, dried food and other staples.

Prices for plastic or fibreglass boats have more than doubled to as much as 10,000 baht due to high demand in flood areas.


A navy officer helps evacuate a family from a flooded area to Ayutthaya’s provincial hall. PATIPAT JANTHONG


Mattresses and sleeping gear have been prepared at Gymnasium2 Building of Thammasat University, which has opened its Rangsit campus for use as an evacuation shelter for flood victims. THITI WANNAMONTHA


Awomanfeeds cats on the roof of her flooded house in tambon Lak Hok of Pathum Thani’s Muangdistrict. THITI WANNAMONTHA


Flooding submerges anATMbooth inside Ayutthaya’s Rojana Industrial Park. KITJA APICHONROJARAK


Residents are evacuated from the city island in Ayutthaya. PATTANAPONGHIRUNARD


The staff of theMass Rapid Transit Authority and Bangkok Metro Plc put upflood walls atRamaIX station in preparation for floods in centralBangkok. APICHIT JINAKUL


Avillager in Pathum Thani’sMuangdistrict climbsdownfrom the second floor of her homeas the first floor has been submerged for overamonth. THITI WANNAMONTHA

Bangkok Post : Ayutthaya left in chaos

Ayutthaya left in chaos

Govt pulls out all stops to help flood victims

• Published: 10/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

Frantic efforts to protect Ayutthaya's inner town and parts of its key industrial estate have failed, forcing the government to order state officials to prepare for emergency evacuations in 10 provinces.

Patients are evacuated on a rubber boat by navy officers from the flooded Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Hospital in Ayutthaya’s Muang district yesterday. PHOTOS BY PATTANAPONG HIRUNARD

Under orders from Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, officials in the 10 Central Plains provinces are authorised to decide when and if evacuations will be carried out.

Resources will be allocated to protect areas still unaffected by flooding or which have already been hit by the deluge but still can be saved from further damage.
Evacuations will be carried out immediately in areas where flooding cannot be prevented.

See also:
Losses could reach 150 billion baht
Masses of factories shut
Govt appeals for sandbag donations
Rice stock freed to ease shortage
'What if' planning still lacking

Apart from Ayutthaya, the other provinces ordered to prepare for emergency evacuations are Ang Thong, Chai Nat, Chachoengsao, Lop Buri, Nakhon Sawan, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Sing Buri and Uthai Thani.

Under an agreement reached at the National Flood Relief Centre's meeting yesterday, the army will take over the job of protecting Ayutthaya, Lop Buri and Nakhon Sawan provinces from further damage.

Provincial governors have been charged with supervising the protection of other flooded provinces, and they will work closely with local police commanders, 191 police radio centre and the Royal Thai Police Office.

Prime Minister Yingluck said she expected the water level to peak on Wednesday and Thursday when the flow in Chao Phraya River in Nakhon Sawan province will reach between 4,800 and 4,900 cubic metres per second.

At that rate, the river will be an average of 20cm higher than usual for about a week, she said.

A mother carrying her newborn baby leaves the flooded Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Hospital when it was evacuated yesterday.

"The government is putting everything it has into helping people. Please do not panic but stay alert and be prepared. The government will keep you updated," she said.

Ms Yingluck chaired the National Flood Relief Centre's meeting yesterday to assess the situation after Ayutthaya's inner city island, where many ancient historical sites are located, was hit hard by flooding yesterday.

Frantic evacuation of residents added to the chaos after the water broke through the town's flood walls in many areas.

The rising water also forced the evacuation of the provincial hospital. Some 300 of the hospital's 600 patients were moved to the town hall while those in need of intensive care were flown by helicopter to hospitals in Bangkok.

One part of Rojana Industrial Park, the province's key industrial zone, also became inundated after failed efforts by workers to repair a damaged levee around the manufacturing enclave following a breach on Saturday.

Ms Yingluck said she had instructed the Industry Ministry to mobilise all resources to salvage the flooded parts of Rojana Industrial Park and other industrial areas in Ayutthaya.

She said the floods had affected only the Phase 1 area of Rojana Industrial Park while the two other sections under Phase 2 and Phase 3 were still dry.

Science and Technology Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi admitted yesterday the National Flood Relief Centre had missed the mark on the severity of the flooding.

"There could be a miscalculation in terms of the amount of water. There could be more floodwater than estimated," he said.

Prime Minister Yingluck said she had ordered the army to open its barracks in Saraburi to provide temporary shelter for evacuees from Ayutthaya.

She urged private firms with facilities that could be used as overnight shelters to contact the government because all flood victims in Ayutthaya will soon need to be evacuated. She made the announcement as floodwater on the roads around the town hall, currently being used as a shelter, continued to rise yesterday.

According to Phadet Naepnian, Muang district chief in Ayutthaya, the flood level in the district yesterday was more than two metres.

Thammasat University has opened a gymnasium at its Rangsit campus for use as an evacuation shelter.

Assoc Prof Dr Kamphon Rujiwit, the university's vice-rector for administration, said the facility can accommodate up to 1,000 people.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration also opened buildings in its northern and eastern districts to provide overnight shelters.

To accommodate flood victims in Ayutthaya who are in need of new shelters, Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn yesterday instructed Mahachulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya University to turn its Building 6 into a shelter.

Mahachulalongkorn Rajavidyalaya University is in Ayutthaya's Wang Noi district.

Ayutthaya province will arrange shuttle buses for flood victims who want to seek shelter at the university.

Those who want to move to the university's evacuation shelter can register with university officials immediately, officials said.

Information and Communication Technology Minister Anudit Nakhonthap said people can send SMS messages via 4567892 to seek help from the National Flood Relief Centre or by calling the 1111 hot line.

The Disaster Relief Centre reported yesterday floodwater had already hit 30 provinces and the flood death toll had risen to 261 with four missing.

Bangkok Post : Govt appeals for sandbag donations

Govt appeals for sandbag donations

North and east Bangkok considered vulnerable

• Published: 10/10/2011 at 12:00 AM
• Newspaper section: News

The government is calling on the public to donate about 700,000 sandbags to guard Bangkok against the coming floodwater from the North.


Rescue officials ride a boat along inundated Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya’s Uthai district to take stranded workers to safety. PATIPAT JANTHONG

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the sandbags were needed to build more embankments in vulnerable parts of the capital.

She also warned Bangkokians, particularly those living in the north and east of the city, to move their valuables to higher ground.

The government, the armed forces, and the Royal Irrigation Department will monitor the water situation in Bangkok at least until Thursday, Ms Yingluck said.


Workers move belongings out of their factory in Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya’s Uthai district. KITJA APICHONROJARAK

Nong Chok, Klong Sam Wa, Lat Krabang and Min Buri districts are regarded as considered most vulnerable, especially when heavy rain and high sea tides are expected to coincide between Oct 20 and 24, said Phiraphong Saichau, a deputy city clerk of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

A total of 80 evacuation centres with a total capacity of 10,000 people had been set up in nine eastern districts, said Mr Phiraphong.

Sanya Cheenimit, director of the BMA's Drainage and Sewerage Department, said the department was closely monitoring the Chao Phraya River, which has been rising as flood run-off continues to pour in from the upper provinces.

Currently, the department can drain 10-20 million cubic metres of water per day from the Chao Phraya through its sluice gates. If canals in central Bangkok are high, a smaller volume of excess can be drained via the canals.

In Pathum Thani, 66 communities in Thanyaburi district's Rangsit Municipality yesterday discussed plans to prevent possible flooding. The communities agreed to add an SMS alert to the municipality's flood warning service.

Residents near the Chulalongkorn water gate in tambon Prachathipat piled up sandbags to prevent possible overflow from the Rangsit canal.

A number of places, including schools and a department store, in Rangsit were also designated evacuation centres.

In Nonthaburi, some minor overflowing of the Chao Phraya's banks was reported yesterday in Pak Kret, Bang Bua Thong and Sai Noi districts, said provincial governor Wichian Phutthiwinyu.

There have been no reports of breached levees in the province and the situation remained under control, he said.

In Ang Thong province, where all districts have been affected, governor Witsawa Sasisamit said the Chalerm Phrakiat Pavillion had been reopened as the main evacuation centre.

The two-storey centre was built five years ago for flood evacuation purposes and can hold up to 1,000 people.

A number of flood victims had begun moving into the evacuation centre, said Mr Witsawa.

The situation in Nakhon Sawan remained critical with flood levels continuing to rise.

Almost all of the province is now inundated, said Nakhon Sawan governor Chairot Midaeng.

Boon-in Chuenchawalit, director of the Bhumibol dam in Sam Ngao district of Tak, said the situation was improving as the volume of run-off flowing into the dam was yesterday considerably less than in the prior four days.

If there is no heavy rain over the next two days, the dam will begin reducing the volume of excess water it is draining out into already-flooded downstream provinces, he said.

TAN_Network TAN News Network

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