Short flood news (update November 18)
The government's reconstruction committee has set up a sub-committee to plan for the formation of an independent organization with full authority in the field of water management.
After this organization is formed, the reconstruction committee will be disbanded, says sub-committee chairman and former deputy prime minister Visanu Krue-ngam.
– Sathian Phoemthongin, permanent secretary of the defense ministry, says the government has formed seven committees to prepare recovery plans for when the flood is over.
– Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat (Transport) says that recovery of Don Mueang airport is only possible when the water recedes. This is expected at the end of the month. Along the Vibhavadi-Rangsit road outside the airport, a 2 km long flood wall of sandbags is being constructed. When the water drops beyond the embankment, the water can be pumped from the airport to surrounding canals.
– Because the water is rising rapidly on the Thon Buri side of Bangkok, more residents of the Samae Dam sub-district (Bang Kunthian district) have been ordered to evacuate. Three to four thousand households have been advised to secure their belongings and to leave for one of the evacuation centers, which have been set up in schools and the Bang Kunthian youth center.
– Rama II, the main route to the South, is still passable. Three channels are being dredged to speed up the flow of water and keep the road passable.
– A hundred residents of Rama II Soi 69 blocked Rama II for Tesco Lotus on Thursday evening. They demanded that the municipality speed up pumping the water from their street, which is between 30 and 40 cm high. [The message does not state whether their action was successful.]
– The Royal Irrigation Department (RID) has deployed 96 extra water pumps in Bangkok-west to drain the water to the Tha Chin River.
– When the water in Bangkok east drops, water pumps will move to Bangkok west, according to the RID.
– In Bangkok-west, 18 'water pushers' have been installed in canals to increase the flow rate of the water. In the Tha Chin River, which is west of Bangkok in the Gulf of Thailand comes out, 37 'water pushers' are active. (See Nov. 16: Senator: Water pushers are a success)
– The Democratic party has filed an impeachment motion against Minister Pracha Promnok (Justice), director of the Flood Relief Operations Command, the crisis center of the government. He would be involved in corruption in the purchase of products for the emergency kits. The Democrats have submitted the same motion against six MPs from the ruling party Pheu Thai. They would have interfered with the work of other government services.
– The province of Phitsanulok suffered a damage of 4,8 billion baht due to the floods. The amount was disclosed by Kulis Sombatsiri, Inspector General of the Ministry of Finance, following a round of inspections together with World Bank representatives. The damage in the provinces of Ayutthaya, Lop Buri, Chai Nat and Nakhon Sawan is also included. In Phitsanulok, 862 villages were affected with 122.575 persons in 56.422 households; 23 people have died. The damage to infrastructure amounts to 3,1 billion baht and farmland 1,6 billion baht (681.211 rai). Fishing, livestock, employment and tourism are also affected. At the moment, 73 villages in four districts are still under water. [For the first time in a long time, the newspaper once again reported on the province. So far all the news has come from Bangkok.]
– The police have arrested four people suspected of burglaries in homes in the district of Khlong Luang (Pathum Thani). The suspects confessed to being on the thieves' path for a month. They sold the stolen goods and spent the money on alcohol and krathom (mitragyna speciosa) leaves. The police confiscated their tools as well as five boats, a gun, 50 amulets and a motorcycle.
– The Royal Thai Army Medical Department, which conducts medical checks every day, reports that no cases of fungal skin diseases have been found in soldiers who work in the polluted water. Some soldiers have suffered minor infections, scrapes or a cold.
– The next round of the Ordinary National Educational Test exams is postponed for two weeks, because the second semester has started with a delay. The students of Prathom 6 will be tested from February 1 to 15; the students of Mathayom 3 on February 2, 3, 16 and 17. The date of the Onet test for Mathayom 6 students has not changed; which remains February 18 and 19.
– Many local authorities will have great difficulty funding repairs next year, says the National Municipal League of Thailand. For the first time, they now also have to pay for care for the elderly and HIV/AIDS patients from their budget. In addition, the government cuts the budget to free up money for the fight against drugs and drug trafficking.
– The November 13 report on the National Science and Technology Development Agency in Rangsit contains numerous errors, said the president of the NSTDA. The buildings have not been flooded with the exception of the ground floor of one building. They were not surrounded by water for a month, but only two weeks. Part of the bio-organism culture collection was not destroyed, because an emergency facility was deployed when the electricity went out. The site is now dry with the exception of the main entrance where there is still 80 cm of water.