IEAT fights to keep a lid on floodwaters

IEAT fights to keep a lid on floodwaters

Flood waters from reservoirs in the North risk hitting major industrial estates.
Flood waters from reservoirs in the North risk hitting major industrial estates.

The Industrial Estate of Thailand (IEAT) has tightened surveillance at locations across the country, particularly in low-lying areas of Ayutthaya province, to ensure protection from floods, says governor Veerapong Chaiperm.

The government and the IEAT are confident that industrial estates will not sustain flood damage as happened in 2011, as necessary protections have been put in place, he said.

"I can guarantee that there will not be anything like what happened in 2011," Mr Veerapong said, referring to the worst flooding in decades that submerged industrial estates in Ayutthaya, causing 1.4 trillion baht in economic damage.

Recent torrential rains in the North forced the Royal Irrigation Department to discharge water from dams and major reservoirs, flooding central areas of Thailand, including Bangkok.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation reported that the floods have hit 10 provinces so far, killing three people and affecting 55,814 families.

Some 3 million rai of farmland and 12,000 rai of fisheries were destroyed, while 72,693 cattle and livestock were killed or went missing.

The flooding has also threatened industrial estates in Ayutthaya province, a manufacturing hub for automotive, food processing and electronics.

Mr Veerapong said the IEAT has prepared water pumps and set up 24-hour monitoring to keep track of water levels.

Sandbags protect industrial estates in Ayutthaya province.

"So far we have not found any industrial estates hit by the floods," he said.

The flood prevention centre will work closely with related government agencies to stay alert and issue any measures if needed.

The Meteorological Department has forecast more heavy rains and stormy weather in the North and Northeast, which are expected to bring excess waters to central areas over the next few days.

The IEAT has been holding flood prevention deployment and evacuation drills in case the situation worsens.

Mr Veerapong said the IEAT is helping local administrations dredge rivers and canals to let excess water more easily drain to sea.

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