Thailand Live Monday 17 Oct 2011

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Thailand Live Monday 17 October 2011

News, Bits and Tweets

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Keep up to date with live updates from the news, hour by hour.

For breaking news,national, regional and international news updates on a daily basis only, this thread is closed to commentary so that those who wish to follow the news can find it here...

Commentary is still open for Thailand news in the relevant thread posted in News Clippings.

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BMA begs govt to act to keep flood water from Pathum Thani out of city

The Nation

Bangkok is begging the Irrigation Department to help stop the floodwaters swamping neighbouring Pathum Thani from cascading into the capital.

"We're worried about Sai Mai and Don Muang districts as well as all areas in the eastern zone," Bangkok Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra said yesterday.

"We'll ask the Irrigation Department to close the sluice gate of Canal 1 everyday. We will beg for sympathy until the water gate there is closed," he said.

Don Mueang Airport, which still services many airlines, is located in Don Muang district.

Sukhumbhand said the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has also been trying to protect its area from floods by building an embankment along the Hok Wa Canal in Sai Mai.

The Army has already been asked to help construct a one-metre-high sandbag barricade along a six-kilometre stretch of this canal. The water in the canal had already risen by two centimetres a day.

Even without the runoff from the storm-struck upper parts of the country, many Bangkok roads were submerged on Saturday night following a torrential downpour.

"The rainfall in Bangkok was up to 154 millimetres on Saturday night," Sukhumbhand said.

From January 1-October 16, Bangkok has been pelted by 2.16m of rain, more than usual.

"The good news is that the Banyan storm has already weakened into just a pressure ridge," he said.

Saturday's cloudburst was responsible for raising the water in many of Bangkok's canals, he said.

"We are closely monitoring the situation," he said.

However, the city's defences have so far successfully saved its inner areas from floods, he said.

The floodwalls range from 2.5m to three metres in height.

However, not all areas in Bangkok are protected by embankments. If runoff from Ayutthaya rages down without any control, many parts of the capital will be threatened, he added.

Pathum Thani is now struggling with water from upstream.

"Our embankment was originally 4m above sea level, but now we've raised it to 6m," Alisa Sahavacharin, assistant rector for student affairs at Thammasat University, said about the Rangsit Campus in Pathum Thani.

The water in nearby canals has almost reached the height of their embankments.

"We believe the moats inside the campus will help," she said.

The campus was ready to move all flood victims taking shelter in the Gymnasium 1 building to its upper floor if it is inundated, she said.

Anon Antimanon, a volunteer at the university's Rangsit Campus, which is a major evacuation centre for flood refugees, said the Chiang Rak and Premprachakorn canals behind the campus had overflowed.

"Chiang Rak Road, which is just behind the campus, is now under about one-and-a-half metres of floodwater," he said.

-- The Nation 2011-10-17

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Kittirat to chair meeting today on relief measures for industry

Nalin Viboonchart

The Nation

Soft loans plan for affected manufacturers, plus skills training

The Industry Ministry will ask the government to approve measures to lessen the impact of the flooding on the estimated 186,000 workers affected, including skills training and soft loans to about 650 flood-hit manufacturers.

Meanwhile, ministry officials insisted no decision has yet been made on whether to postpone the BoI Fair, which is scheduled for November 10-25. The Board of Investment (BoI) will hold a meeting to discuss the issue today(October 17).

Industry Minister Wannarat Charnnukul said the flood-relief measures would be proposed to the economic relief committee chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Kittirat Na-Ranong today. The proposals include six-year soft loans to affected manufacturers. The amount of the loans is under consideration, while the interest rate awaits consideration by the committee. The loans will be separate from those offered by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand.

Another proposed measure was skills training, to be conducted while affected manufacturing plants are repaired, Wannarat said.

Yesterday, water flooded into Factory Land, an industrial estate housing nearly 100 manufacturing plants in Ayutthaya province's Wang Noi district. The plants there have a combined investment value of Bt11 billion, with roughly 6,000 workers. The water level is 1.5-2 metres high.

So far, five industrial parks have been submerged, affecting 645 plants and 186,000 workers.

Witoon Simachokedee, permanent secretary at the Industry Ministry, said the BoI would also hold a meeting today (October 17) to discuss whether or not to postpone the BoI Fair. After the BoI concludes this matter, it will inform the Industry Ministry before notifying Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who chairs the BoI's approval committee.

"It may prove impossible to organise the BoI Fair at this time due to the severe floods. However, the BoI has yet to make a decision on this matter. It must ask Impact Exhibition Management, the operator of Muang Thong Thani [convention centre], where the fair is to be held. And finally, it has to seek approval from the prime minister," Witoon said.

While some potential exhibitors at the fair are keen for it to proceed, others whose operations have been affected are not.

-- The Nation 2011-10-17

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PM enlists more Army help

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Thai academics question moves used to stop flood

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Stick with winning strategies: UK education expert Barber

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Many stressed, fearful

The Nation

About one in three people feel very stressful due to news reports on the floods and some two in five are quite stressful because they fear their homes will be inun-dated, Suan Dusit Poll said in a survey released yesterday.

Fewer than one in ten said they saw the floods as a natural phenomenon, meaning there was no reason for anxiety.

One in two people said they would avoid flood-related news in order to lower the level of their anxiety.

Almost the same number of people said they chose to brace themselves for the inevitability of being flooded.

About three in five people have called for increased police patrols as a way to fight burglars taking advantage of the floods.

They also want the Commerce Ministry to rein in the prices of essential goods in the face of the inundation.

In regard to political implications, almost half the respondents did not see the floods as an opportunity to bring about reconciliation, saying inundation and politics are two separate issues.

Key conclusions drawn from the inundation include untold damage and the urgency for the government to come up with a comprehensive plan to prevent future floods.

-- The Nation 2011-10-17

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Higher education system needs a dramatic upgrade: Thai opinion

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Emergency centre taking more than 50,000 calls a day

Asina Pornwasin

The Nation

The government's call centre-1111 press 5 was only set up a week ago at the Flood Relief Operation Centre (FROC), but is now handling 50,000 to 60,000 calls a day, mainly for immediate help from state agencies and authorities.

The call centre provides the core data for FROC to manage and monitor the flood situation as well as to offer rapid help to flood victims. The hotline service is driven by a collaboration of all mobile operators, Advance Info Service, Dtac, and TrueMove, plus TOT Corporation.

The four organisations have 400 reception agents working at the tier-1 centre to receive calls via 1111 press 5. It received 40,000 calls a day initially, but this has increased to between 50,000 and 60,000 calls a day now.

The agents answer basic questions and learn which areas need help or are asking for evacuations - such as what streets are closed, what areas are to be watched and prepared for evacuation, as well as locations that need help with evacuations and food supply.

Arpattra Sringkarrinkul, who is in charge of FROC's call centre, said about 80 per cent of incoming calls were resolved and completed at the tier-1 call centre.

Only 20 per cent were passed to the tier-2 call centre at FROC at Don Mueang, which has around 70 people manning phones. They are officers from organisations such as the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Metropolitan Electric Authority and Department of Highway, who take care of the calls.

"Tier-1 call centre has 400 agents from AIS, Dtac, True, and TOT Corporation, who answer calls at their sites. These agents can access the FROC's database for information of flood areas and update-status of streets and highways. If people need more specific information, their calls are passed to the tier-2 call centre," Arpattra said.

Officials at the tier-2 call centre are from organisations involved in flood relief. Their priorities are human life, evacuation, and health emergencies.

"If the calls are from the most severe flood situations, such as Ayutthaya, Nakhon Sawan, and Lop Buri, they are passed to the military. If they are asking for food, water, boats, restrooms, and so on, the calls will be passed to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, [or] Ministry of Interior.

"We are now adding location-based features on to the calls, by working with the Provincial Electric Authority (PEA) to plot the exact location of calls to identify their origin. This helps authorities reach them more quickly. For example, we received a call one night from Ayutthaya. We passed the information to the relevant rescue organisation, and they helped bring a 100-year-old grandmother out from her flooded house in time."

Arpattra said the call centre's IT system and teams were working round the clock to offer flood relief services as efficiently as they can.

She said a call centre system usually needed to be tested for months before it could work well. For the current emergency, call centre-1111 was performing well, but it wasn't 100 per cent.

She said that with clear directions from the PM and Information and Communication Technology Minister, the call centre integrates both private and government organisations. This collaboration helped the call 1111-centre's system to be set up and running at short notice.

"All authorities give us feedback from their operations which is sent to a database to check the progress of cases. An outbound call centre also calls and monitors victims to check on who has called in."

Arpattra has 30-years' experience in technology and telecoms and was an IBM system engineer and ex-AIS' chief information officer. She has contacts with many private IT and telecom firms.

-- The Nation 2011-10-17

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Increase in seniors' allowance proposed

Piyanart Srivalo

The Nation

The Interior Ministry will seek Cabinet approval for a Bt52 billion budget to increase senior citizens' monthly allowance from a flat Bt500 to a maximum of Bt1,000, according to their age bracket.

All Thai nationals when they reach 60 years of age currently receive a fixed Bt500 a month, according to a policy that costs the government Bt16 billion per year.

A source said yesterday that the ministry has proposed that those who are aged 60-69 will receive Bt600, rising to Bt700 for those 70-79, Bt800 for those 80-89 and Bt1,000 for those 90 and up.

The government will allocate the additional funds from the fiscal 2012 budget.

-- The Nation 2011-10-17

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Lessons can be learnt from disastrous floods: Thailand

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Engine problem forces Qantas jet back to Bangkok

File photo: Boeing 747. Source: Wikipedia

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Lower NEast, East, BKK to see heavy rain; sandbags reinforced at Navanakorn Industrial Park; Rangsit Canal sees high water level /TAN_Network

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Murder near Phuket Airport

Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers prepare Mr Niphon's body

for transport to the Thalang Hospital morgue.

Photo: Wichai Witthawat

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Military called in for flood rescue and coordination with foreign counterparts on use of aircraft

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[7.20] Water level at Sam Khok, Mueang, and Ladlumkaew district is 1.5-2 metre high: Pathum Thani Governor. /via@Neaw_NBC

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AFP: Qantas flight turns back to Bangkok as labour dispute grows

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Experts want BoT to maintain key rate to help flood-hit businesses

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Bangkok Governor Worries about Flooding in North

The Bangkok governor expresses concern about possible flooding in the Donmuang and Saimai districts following the decision by the Royal Irrigation Department to drain water through those areas.

He has asked the army for help in constructing a six-kilometer sand barricade.

Bangkok Governor Mom Ratchawongse Sukhumbhand Paribatara admitted that there are concerns about flooding in northern Bangkok as the Royal Irrigation Department has opened the floodgate at the Rangsit Canal which will channel water into the Premprachakorn Canal.

This may affect the smaller canals in Saimai District as two centimeters of water will pass through them per day.

The governor said he has asked the department to close the floodgate but has received no response nor any explanation for the decision. Therefore, he has reported the issue to Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

He has requested help from the army in sending 50 soldiers to stack and create a six-kilometer sandbag barrier at a height of one meter.

On Saturday’s rainfall, the governor reported that the heaviest rain was reported in Thonburi District at 154.5 millimeters.

The Chao Phraya River’s highest water level was reported at 8.30 A.M. yesterday at 2.06 meters, lower than Saturday’s highest level at 2.15 meters.

The water level in various canals were still normal yesterday except for that in eastern Bangkok at the Taweewatana District, which was higher than Saturday by ten centimeters.

For the area outside Bangkok’s flood wall at the Bangpoh Pier, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration or BMA has stacked 30,000 sandbags to construct a 2.8 meter high flood barrier with a length of 240 meters.

Officials also placed 100 concrete barriers to prevent possible flooding to Bangsue District.

For the eastern districts of Klongsamwa, Minburi, Nongchok and Ladkrabang, flooding occurred on some roads and riverside communities since the area is a low-lying plain, causing canals to overflow when heavy rain came down.

In Taweewatana District, there is flooding in the community bordering the Mahasawad Canal due to holes in the flood levees and the heavy rains that have fallen.

Sukhumbhand admitted that preventing flooding in Bangkok's western region is difficult because it encompasses a large area, particularly Buddhamonthon 4 Road, but he gave assurances that the BMA is on top of the situation.

-- Tan Network 2011-10-17

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Flood center:boats push 5-10% of flood runoff out to sea succeeded;Nakhon Sawan should see water recede in 7 days, months for Ayutthaya/TAN_Network

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People told to avoid wading into water logged areas for their own health

BANGKOK, 17 October 2011 (NNT)-The Department of Health has warned people against walking in the flood water as it could be infested with many types of diseases.

DOH Director M.D. Somyos Dirasami said that water borne diseases that could affect the health of those surrounded by flood include diarrhea, flu, leptospirosis, rashes and pink eye. Flood stricken citizens should take extra care for their well-being particularly children and the elderly.

While the flood situation still prevails, the DOH advises that people should only eat properly cooked food, clean water, frequently wash their hands before having a meal and should not urinate and defecate in the flood water.

M.D. Somyos said it would only further contaminate the water and spawn all sorts of diseases which could be difficult to contain. People are also strongly advised not to wade into water logged areas as they could be highly contaminated.

-- NNT 2011-10-17

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Thai stock index opens on Monday at 963.88, up 8.07 points /MCOT

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'Obsolete' Weather Radar Blamed as Full Dams Worsen Thai Floods

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Flooding Crisis is among The World's Focus

The foreign media is closely monitoring and reporting on Thailand's flood crisis, noting that it is the country's worst catastrophe in decades.

Meanwhile, the United States has offered aid to the Thai government.

The international media is reporting on the worst flood crisis in decades to inundate Thailand.

They are reporting that in many provinces, people, and businesses are reeling under floodwaters, and the situation remains woeful.

Meanwhile, the government is reporting that the capital, Bangkok, and Suvarnabhumi international airport have so far been spared.

The military, the private sector, and volunteers have spent days providing initial aid to flood victims, and are rushing to prevent additional flooding in communities and industrial zones.

Bangkok residents remain fearful of possible flooding and are rushing frantically to stash up on necessity items.

Even worse, the main road heading to the capital is now inundated, disrupting supply vehicles to distribute goods.

Hence, many department stores cannot stock up enough products to meet the rising consumer demand.

Last Saturday, the United States of America offered airplanes and thousands of sandbags for flood relief efforts.

A 10-man team of U.S. Marines was sent on a survey mission to determine how Washington can best provide necessary help to Thailand.

-- Tan Network 2011-10-17

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Dream World in Pathum Thani and Safari World & Siam Park City in Northeastern Bangkok are open as normal /via@RichardBarrow

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Flood Relief Centre: High tide causes 1-2 metre flood in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi /MCOT

Another barrier shored up to protect Navanakorn Industrial Estate in Pathum Thani /MCOT

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Ayutthaya to Cope with Flood Waste

The Ayutthaya provincial authority is preparing a long-term plan to cope with the rotting debris left by floods.

Ayutthaya Governor Wittaya Phewphong said flood debris and garbage is another urgent problem that must be addressed once the situation improves as some areas have begun to stink.

He added that officials have used Effective Microorganisms to eliminate the stink for the time being, while the Natural Resources and Environment provincial office has been assigned to work towards long-term solutions, such as determining the time frame for EM application, cleaning up waste, and coordinating with other agencies.

The Head of Ayuthaya Natural Resources and Environment provincial office, Surachai Ajolboon said a ton of garbage shows up at City Hall everyday, but the total amount in the province has yet to be determined.

He added that four teams of officials have been dispatched to survey the old city and collect trash from the area.

The rubbish has started to emit a foul odor as floodwaters have not yet drained away.

EM substances are also being used to decompose the waste and minimize the bad smell.

Rubbish in the area has started to spread foul odors as floodwaters have not yet drained away.

EM substances are also being used to decompose the waste and reduce the bad smell.

Residents are advised to separate trashes and not to throw them into waters as doing so could create an unhealthy environment.

-- Tan Network 2011-10-17

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Higher Fence Posts of Crocodile Farm To Prevent Crocodiles Escape

The owner of a crocodile farm in Mahasarakham Province has ordered a taller, stronger fence be erected to prevent the escape of crocodiles, as water-levels in the river continue to rise.

Water-levels in the Chee River continues to rise and has flown into four districts, including Chaing Yeun District, Kosumpisai District, Kuntaravichai District, and Muang Mahasarakham District.

In the Kosumpisai District, flooding has caused damage to many agricultural areas and homes.

Water has also deluged into 80 crocodile ponds at the crocodile farm near the Chee River with 50-centimeters of water.

For this reason, the owner has ordered a taller and stronger fence be put up, adding an additional 20 centimeters of height to prevent the escape of crocodiles.

Each crocodile is around two years old and measures more than 1.5 meter in length.

The agricultural department has conceded that water is flowing too rapidly this year, and that the inundation has been worse than they expected.

If the water-level continues to rise, it will be necessary to evacuate the crocodiles, rather than leaving them to escape and cause damage.

-- Tan Network 2011-10-17

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Three major dams discharging less water; lower volume relieves flood

UTTARADIT, Oct 16 - The country’s three major dams on Sunday reduced the amount of water being released from their reservoirs to help relieve Thailand’s downstream flood problems.

The Sirikit Dam in Uttaradit province has cut the amount of water released from its reservoir to 20 million cubic metres per day from 50 million cubic metres.

The amount of rainfall upstream from the dam has fallen, so the measure has not impacted the water storage capacity or strength of the dam.

In Tak, the Bhumibol Dam cut its discharge to 50 million cubic metres per day. As a result, officials concerned were able to effectively manage the water in the Chao Phraya River basin. The dam is expected to further decrease the volume of released water if there is no more rain in the northern part of the country.

In Lop Buri, the Pasak Jolasit Dam reduced its amount of released water as well, aiming to lessen the impacts related to the volume of water flowing through the Rama VI Dam, Ayutthaya and other nearby provinces in the lower central region.

Meanwhile, the national Disaster Prevention and Mitigation service reported Sunday that flooding will continue in 26 provinces, affecting 2.3 million people. The death toll has risen to 297 with two persons still missing in Mae Hong Son and Uttaradit. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2011-10-17