Around half of people in Bangkok are concerned that the capital will be hit by floods again this year, according to research by Bangkok Poll.
The pollsters at Bangkok University based their conclusions on interviews with 1,190 people living and working in the capital.
A total of 48.7% of respondents said reports on flooding in several provinces have made them feel increasingly concerned about possible floods in Bangkok, while some 54% believed floods would hit the city this year, though the situation would not be as critical as it was in 2011.
Despite that, 41.5% of respondents said they are not worried about potential floods, while 35% said they were sure that there would be no floods in the capital this year.
On the government’s ability to deal with possible floods this year in comparison to 2011, 50.2% said officials are better prepared, 36% said the level of readiness was the same and 13.8% thought authorities were less prepared.
Asked about their top concern in the event that floods do hit Bangkok, 50.3% said they feared the government and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) would struggle to handle the situation in a coordinated manner, 39.2% said problems with corruption could hamper efforts to deal with any flood, and 38.1% said state agencies were likely to be unprepared to carry out work such as dredging canals and providing water pumps.
Questioned on their confidence in the ability of the authorities to prevent the city from flooding, respondents gave the BMA an average grade of 5.96 out of ten, and the government an average of 5.69 out of ten.