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Senators say getting emergency help should be as easy as ordering a pizza.

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Keep it simple

Chances are good that you know a number to call for pizza (1112 or 1150, for example), but not to get help if are worried your house may be flooded

In fact, there are six numbers related to emergency information on flooding: 1460, for the Royal Irrigation Department’s hotline for updates; 1784, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department’s emergency hotline; 1669, the Emergency Medical Institute’s hotline; 1182, the Meteorological Department’s call centre; 1193, the highway police’s number; and the Highway Department’s hotline at 1586.

As a result, flood victims are confused about who to call and this has limited the ability of government agencies to assist them.

Similar problems apply to many emergency situations and Senator Monthian Boontan is proposing a simple solution.

He says Thailand should adopt a single emergency hotline number similar to 911 in the US and Canada and 112 in Europe.

Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn agrees and says the emergency hotline number should be toll free.

He also says permission to use three or four digit telephone numbers should be granted sparingly.

Mr Somchai said the numbers should be reserved for emergency services and not granted for more frivolous uses, such as pizza delivery, which he says would never happen in the West.

The idea is now being considered by legislators vetting the frequency allocation bill.
 
Adapted from a story by Mongkol Bangprapa in today's Bangkok Post.

chances are good – used to say that something is likely but not completely certain มีทางค่อนข้างสูงว่า
emergency – an unexpected situation involving danger in which immediate action is necessary เหตุฉุกเฉิน
irrigation – the process of supplying water to an area of land through pipes or channels so that crops will grow การชลประทาน
hotline – a special telephone number that people can call for information โทรศัพท์สายตรงที่จัดไว้สำหรับเหตุเร่งด่วนหรือเฉพาะเรื่อง
update – the most recent information or news about something ข้อมูลใหม่ๆ
disaster –an unexpected event, such as a very bad accident, a flood or a fire, that kills a lot of people or causes a lot of damage ความหายนะ ความล่มจม ความโชคร้าย
prevention – preventing something bad from happening การป้องกันภ้ย
mitigation – a reduction in the harmful effects of something  บรรเทา  ผ่อนคลาย
Meteorological Department – the government department in charge of determining what the weather will be in the future กรมอุตุนิยมวิทยา
confused – unable to understand something or think clearly about it สับสน
propose – to suggest an idea for a group to consider เสนอ
adopt – to accept or to start using something new นำมาใช้
toll free (telephone number) – a number that you can call without having to pay บริการโทรศัพท์ฟรี
permission – allowing someone to do something การอนุญาต,การอนุมัติ,การยินยอม
digit – any one of the ten numbers 0 to 9 ตัวเลข (0 ถึง 9)
grant – to officially give something  ให้
sparingly – in small quantities or amounts อย่างประหยัด   
reserved - kept for a particular purpose or time สงวนไว้
frivolous – of an activity or object which is silly or not important rather than useful or serious ไม่น่าเอาจริงเอาจัง,ไม่สำคัญ, เล่นๆ
legislator – someone who has the power and authority to create new laws สมาชิกของสภานิติบัญญัติ
vet – to examine something in order to decide if it is allowed ตรวจสอบ
frequency – the number of times that a wave, especially a sound or radio wave, is produced within a particular period, especially one second ความถี่
frequency allocation – deciding how frequencies are to be shared within the telecommunications industry
bill – a proposal for a law ร่างกฎหมาย

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