Powers and limitations of Disaster Act
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The Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act of 2007 is the key law empowering Interior Ministry's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and provincial administrations to tackle natural calamities.
In past cases of disaster, provincial governors were the main enforcers of the law.
Under extreme circumstances, Article 31 prescribes for the prime minister to intervene and override local governments, including the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, to mitigate the disaster.
By issuing a disaster warning for the capital, the central government aims to take control of the city’s sluice gates to coordinate flood control and drain run-off into the sea via eastern Bangkok.
The act has a more limited mandate than the emergency decree. The disaster provisions apply mainly to civilian officials and the prime minister is obligated to issue a separate order to involve the military in flood control.
