Paradorn admits government misjudged Hat Yai flood situation, vows lessons learned
Minister Paradorn admits government misjudged the Hat Yai flood situation, causing deaths, and pledges to use the crisis as a lesson for future responses.
Paradorn Prissanananthakul, Minister Attached to the Prime Minister's Office, acknowledged the government's failure in assessing the Hat Yai flood crisis during a segment on the “Mee Reung Live” YouTube show on Thursday.
As Director of the Emergency Flood Crisis Operations Centre, he responded to questions from the media about when the government would admit its misjudgement, which led to the deaths of many people.
"Yesterday, I responded by saying that mistakes were made. Of course, when there are fatalities, it is evident that mistakes occurred," he said. "But I believe today, the government, civil servants, and even the people must learn from this crisis. It is a lesson for all parties to assess how significantly each side underestimated the situation."
He further added that in recent years, natural crises have become increasingly frequent worldwide. "Therefore, the government, civil servants, and the public must prepare for such events. We should learn from this experience and apply it to future events on how we will handle such crises."
"I can confidently say that the government is fully committed to addressing the situation. When the crisis occurred, we mobilised all available resources, declared a state of emergency, and worked together to resolve the situation," said Paradorn.
Siripong Angkasakulkiat, Spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office, announced on Thursday that the Hat Yai flood in Songkhla Province has resulted in 85 confirmed fatalities as of November 27. Of these, 55 deaths were directly caused by the flooding, while 30 deaths were due to other factors unrelated to the flood.
