NCPO claims flood-management win

DUE TO THREE tropical storms and one tropical depression, cumulative rainfall so far this year this has been 1,798 millimetres – similar to the same period in 2011, when Thailand witnessed its worst flood in 50 years.
However, National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Spokesman Colonel Winthai Suvaree said the flood situation was not as bad because the government had a good water-management plan in place. This included an increase in the number of water-retention areas, better management of water releases from dams and an increase in flood-draining efficiency. 
Army chief General Chalermchai Sitthisart said 31 military companies had been dispatched to aid affected residents in 22 provinces. Despite their best efforts, certain flood-prone areas were submerged, he said.
He confirmed that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had instructed the responsible agencies to aid and compensate flood victims effectively.
Citing a report that 19 people – 12 of whom were aged between 20 months and 20 years old – drowned in the past four weeks, Disease Control Department chief Dr Suwanchai Wattanayingcharoenchai yesterday urged parents to keep a close watch on their children in the wake of floods.
He urged children, elderly persons and those with disabilities or chronic illness to avoid wading through deep floods or doing any activity in torrential rain.
Meanwhile, Khon Kaen governor Somsak Jangtrakul yesterday morning inspected the work of soldiers and defence volunteers who repaired a severely flooded and eroded road along the 3L-RMC irrigation waterway in Tambon Bung Niam of Khon Kaen’s Muang district. 

The volunteers joined with provincial irrigation workers to build a temporary barrier of sandbags and Eucalyptus tree trunks to prevent flood torrents from further eroding the road. In the next step, some 500 sheets of metal and 300 rock-filled gabion boxes will be used to repair the road – a task that should be completed in three days, Somsak said. He added that 3,500 rai (560 hectares) of farmland in Bung Niam had so far been damaged by floods. 
The provincial water management panel had decided on Saturday to lower the amount of water release from the Ubolrat Dam to 38 million cubic metres since yesterday afternoon. The lower rate would prevent the Lam Nam Pong from overflowing further and therefore allow time for officials to repair the Bung Niam road and flood barriers.
The overflowing Yom River has inundated residential homes and tourist attractions, including Wat Si Sattharam’s “Crocodile Ubosot” in Phichit’s Sam Ngam district yesterday. The all-white Ubosot, featuring statues of crocodiles was under 20cm-deep water, causing inconvenience to visitors. 

The Phichit authority said 11,476 households and 50,118 rai of farmland in eight districts were affected and 12 people had been killed in the recent floods.
In Mae Hong Song, provincial governor Suebsak Iamwichan led Red Cross Society officials to visit flood-affected hill-tribe people in Bang Huai Sua Thao in Tambon Pha Bong of Muang district yesterday. Officials brought 33 relief packages to flood victims, while the Red Cross Society said they would build three homes for those whose houses had completely collapsed and ensure that related agencies repaired those homes that had been partially ruined.