Bangkok governor orders urgent flood protection amid La Niña threat
Chadchart wants flood defences beefed up in low-lying areas and slum communities amid forecasts of unusually high water flows
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt on Monday ordered urgent action to prevent the capital’s slums from flooding amid forecasts of heavier rain due to the La Niña phenomenon.
Chadchart told Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) officials to urgently survey flood-prone slums and come up with preventive measures.
The meeting came after Chadchart briefed Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin last week on plans to combat flooding in vulnerable communities during rainy season.
Srettha visited the BMA’s Drainage and Sewerage Department in Din Daeng district on Thursday to check on the city’s flood defences. He also told officials to prepare for higher than usual water flows in Bangkok from this month to November.
The PM said the Interior Ministry, Royal Irrigation Department, Water Resource Department, and armed forces were ready to help the BMA combat flooding, especially in at-risk areas and slum communities. He also asked the BMA to urgently come up with plans to help flood victims in slums.
On Monday, Chadchart warned BMA officials to ensure their procurement projects were transparent and corruption-free.
He also urged chiefs of Bangkok’s 50 district offices to speed up implementation of BMA policies to meet their key performance indicators. Moreover, district chiefs were told to conduct fact-finding visits to slum communities.
