Flood Situation Improving: PM

[Lite Beer]

Flood situation improving: PM

The Nation on Sunday

Yingluck non-committal on inner Bangkok; Ban, Clinton to visit Bangkok on Wednesday

The flood situation in Bangkok is getting better with water receding in many places, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said yesterday, although she declined to say how far the flood water would stray into inner Bangkok and whether the Bangchan Industrial Estate will be safe.

Yingluck said the flood situation in Bangkok would be less severe than in the provinces, although there will be a high-tide period in mid-November. She said water drainage in the west of Bangkok needs further improvement.

Answering a reporter's question on how far she expected the water to reach inner Bangkok, the premier said, "It's difficult to say. I have to see the situation on November 13 [today] first as we are doing something to prevent the flood and we need to see to what extent it works."

If the water is drained to Saen Saeb Canal and the sluice watergate can work well, everything would be all right, she said.

Earlier, in her weekly television and radio programme, the prime minister said the "big bag" barriers - the temporary flood-prevention dykes made from 1-2 tonne sandbags - could delay water coming from the north of Bangkok, allowing time for better water management to the east of the capital.

Yingluck said she had ordered the Royal Irrigation Department to drain the water in the upper areas of the big-bag line to Rangsit Canal and then to the sea as soon as possible. Besides the order for the Interior Ministry to give help and compensation to residents of the areas affected by the use of big bags, which would slow down water drainage from their areas, the government had provided 70 large pumps, according to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's request, so that water can be drained faster.

The water drainage must be done quickly while the sea tide is not so high, she said.

In the west of Bangkok, Yingluck said, the repair of broken dykes at 14 points was expected to be finished by the weekend. If successful, then water trapped in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi and the west of Bangkok should recede.

It is hard to make the west of Bangkok flood-free as the dyke system on this side is not as strong as in the east of Bangkok, she said. Moreover, the canal system was aligned in a vertical direction. The government had ordered canal dredging to expedite water drainage to the sea, Yingluck added.

The Transport Ministry is expediting recovery of road No 340, which was earlier flooded, to serve as a back-up road to the South in case Rama II Road becomes unusable, she said.

Regarding compensation, Yingluck said the Cabinet on Tuesday had approved Bt3.1 billion assistance for over 600,000 households in 30 districts of Bangkok. Each household would get Bt5,000 within 45 days.

Meanwhile, over 470,000 flood victims, or 90 per cent of the total, in 36 provinces have already received compensation. The Government Savings Bank would give the money to the remaining victims by Tuesday, she said.

Up to Bt30,000 assistance would be paid if a victim's house is fully damaged; up to Bt20,000 would be paid in case of partial house damage; up to Bt25,000 assistance in case of death and up to another Bt25,000 in case of death of the head of the family, she said.

Yingluck said the flood situation in the central region was improving, with many provinces having almost returned to normal, including Ayutthaya, Nakhon Sawan, Sing Buri and Ang Thong. Some provinces had organised "big cleaning day" campaigns to clean up their provinces and bring them back to normal.

Yingluck expressed gratitude for help from foreign countries such as Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United States and also thanked the MPs for the vote on the first reading of the 2012 Budget Bill. She promised the money would be used transparently and for the best benefit of the people.

On Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Thailand. They will visit flood-affected areas in Bangkok in separate missions before discussing assistance to Thailand, Yingluck said.

She would also clarify the country's plan in different phases: rescue, restore and rebuild, she said.

Yingluck said she was scheduled to attend the Asean Summit in Bali from Thursday to Saturday. She said she would clarify to the international community the flood situation and rehabilitation plan so as to rebuild confidence in Thailand among foreign investors.

During the Summit, she will also meet US President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

-- The Nation 2011-11-13

[timekeeper]

dam_n, she has aged since taking the job........

[BlueTerrace]

dam_n, she has aged since taking the job........

Nah, its Thaksin ...in drag.

[Buchholz]

dam_n, she has aged since taking the job........

Most of the photos published when she first entered politics were years and years old.

Now that she's in the spotlight with live news cameras instead of portrait studios making retouches for AIS or SC Asset glossy promos, reality comes to the forefront.

.

Edited November 13, 2011 by Buchholz

[Buchholz]

Earlier, in her weekly television and radio programme, the prime minister said the "big bag" barriers - the temporary flood-prevention dykes made from 1-2 tonne sandbags - could delay water coming from the north of Bangkok, allowing time for better water management to the east of the capital.

Yingluck said she had ordered the Royal Irrigation Department to drain the water in the upper areas of the big-bag line to Rangsit Canal and then to the sea as soon as possible

.

2:12pm FROC let DonMueng locals dissemble big bag barrier on Vipawadee outbound rd, to let water flow into PremPraChakorn canal.

~@Neaw_NBC/via@Tulip_Oum

2.20pm:FROC to remove more big bags on Vibhavadi outbound near Don Mueang within 6pm tomorrow following demanding of DM residents

#ThaiPBS/via@tukky_nt

[rubl]

Earlier, in her weekly television and radio programme, the prime minister said the "big bag" barriers - the temporary flood-prevention dykes made from 1-2 tonne sandbags - could delay water coming from the north of Bangkok, allowing time for better water management to the east of the capital.

Yingluck said she had ordered the Royal Irrigation Department to drain the water in the upper areas of the big-bag line to Rangsit Canal and then to the sea as soon as possible

.

2:12pm FROC let DonMueng locals dissemble big bag barrier on Vipawadee outbound rd, to let water flow into PremPraChakorn canal.

~@Neaw_NBC/via@Tulip_Oum

2.20pm:FROC to remove more big bags on Vibhavadi outbound near Don Mueang within 6pm tomorrow following demanding of DM residents

#ThaiPBS/via@tukky_nt

The story of the BBbarrier continues.

3:43pm PM affirms that there will be no removal of the Big Bag barricade at Don Muang Airport/TAN_Network

3:47pm Froc spokesman Pongsapat Pongcharoen said FROC has not given an order to remove 'big bags' for 30 metres from the flood barrier near Don Mueang airport (the other newspaper)

3:56pm Whether FROC to remove the big bags at DM or not residents already removing them. http://t.co/8gpKZXkj via @TayaTeepsuwan/via@tukky_nt

3:56pm Head of DonMueng Community told @news1005fm that PT MP,Keng Karun told them FROC allow them to dissemble the barrier.~@LyNGinG/via@Tulip_Oum

4:20pm Twenty Don Muang representatives gather to pressure the government to remove the big bag barricades, else they'd close the tollway./TAN_Network

Edited November 13, 2011 by rubl

[Moruya]

The poor governance continues. I can understand opening the Expressways to all if the roads are impassable but all she's achieved with opening everything is the paralysis of Bangkok.

It took me 2 hours to get to Suvarnaphumi on Friday. Nok air have just 2 check ins and they are inundated. Made my flight with minutes to spare.

Returned today. The car parks are full so they have parking completely filling the inner road and 4 rows deep in the outer lane. That leaves just 2 lanes to put down or pickup. It took my driver 45 minutes to get around from parking.

Anyone flying beware. The airpory is.paralysed too.

[Buchholz]

Don Muang Residents Pressure Government to Remove Big Bags

Twenty representatives from Don Muang District gathered to pressure the government in removing the big bag barriers tomorrow, or else, they will shut down the tollway.

Local residents were especially angry with the government’s lack of action to alleviate their suffering.

Residents living at the north of the big bag barrier received great hardships, as the water level at Sirindthorn village rose up to 1.6 meters.

The water begun emitting foul odors and no authorities were there to handle the situation.

Previously, the Bangkok deputy governor promised to open a 6 meter-gap within the big bag barricade to slowly channel water out of the area.

At the same time, preventative measures have been set to not let water get out of control and flow rapidly into inner Bangkok.

However, the twenty Don Muang representatives found out that somebody had closed down the 6 meter-gap sometime earlier; they were quick to re-open the gap again.

The representatives insisted that they have not opened a gap wider than the promised 6 meters.

Don Muang residents insisted that there is no need to place the big bags in their area any longer, as the water levels continue to recede in most areas of Bangkok.

They were especially angry that their communities were not notified before hand that there would be big bags placed in the area.

The twenty representatives reprimanded the government for their inaction to provide justice to 20 communities and 80,000 residents who are facing grave distress.

-- Tan Network 2011-11-13