Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra on Friday ordered his subordinates in all 50 districts to brace for torrential rain expected to slam the capital on Sunday.
MR Sukhumbhand said his city officials in all districts will closely monitor flood-prone areas after he learned of the two-day downpour forecast, which have raised fears of a new round of flash floods and traffic gridlock.
"Heavy rainfall is expected on June 14 and 15," MR Sukhumbhand said on Friday as the governor unveiled response plans he believed would avoid a recurrence of the two problems that hit Bangkok last Monday following the pre-dawn downpour.
MR Sukhumbhand came under heavy criticism over the city’s slow drainage of flood waters that inundated many roads during Monday morning’s rush hour.
This time, the governor said, "city officials, police and soldiers will work together and deal with stricken areas more quickly".
MR Sukhumbhand has said City Hall did its best in deploying all measures to cope with the floods in Bangkok.
Though the city’s sewage system is inadequate, to upgrade it all — which covers a distance of 2,000 kilometres — requires large sums of money and such a long period of time that "even 10 years is not enough", he said.
However, in his view, Bangkok has improved its flood management over the years. One example is the quicker drainage on flood-prone Si Ayutthaya Road, thanks to a new pumping station on nearby Nikhom Makkasan Road, which has been operating since late last year.
With the station, which helps pump water to the Saen Saep canal, officials could drain flood water from Si Ayutthaya Road in one hour following the Monday downpour, MR Sukhumbhand said during his inspection of the pump premises.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Anupong Paojinda on Friday chaired a meeting with relevant state agencies to discuss the government’s national agenda for improving rubbish management. The meeting was held at the Interior Ministry.
Gen Anupong said after the meeting that rubbish management nationwide needs a lot of money but the state agencies agreed they would try their best to put the waste management plan into action under a limited budget.
"To help us follow the plan in the initial stage we want to see people help reduce their household waste. If they can, we believe our waste management plan will succeed," Gen Anupong said.
According to a study by the Ministry of the Interior, the cost of the rubbish management plan would come to 13 billion baht.