Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt guaranteed that Bangkok will not experience a repeat of the epic flood in 2011 following his inspection of flood-mitigation work in the capital.
Mr Chadchart yesterday inspected the setup of sandbags around the Royal Thai Naval Dockyard and Taksin bridge on Charoen Krung Road, a zone prone to flooding, as part of flood-mitigation efforts for communities in the area.
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) officials and soldiers have been cooperating to address the issue.
Mr Chadchart said the BMA began closely working with the army last month when Defence Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha agreed to cooperate to dredge canals.
The Royal Thai Navy's Hydrographic Department, which monitors water levels, may provide prompt notifications to each community and use tools, such as water pushers, to curb flooding in some areas in the capital.
The BMA may also ask the navy to deploy water-pushing boats along the Prawet Buri Rom and Saen Saep canals, an area likely to be affected by excess water discharge from the Pasak Jolasid Dam.
The BMA is expected to rapidly drain water from the upper areas as the Office of the National Water Resources has reported a reduction in the amount of rainfall in the five days leading up to Saturday.
In addition, piles of sandbags have been placed in 76 flood-prone spots along the Chao Phraya River.
Authorities have recorded water flowing through the city at 1,400 cubic metres per second, which is considered manageable.
"When compared to the epic flood in 2011, I think we can even hold 2,500mps of water," Mr Chadchart said. "We have been working with various agencies to mitigate the inundation issues and preparing for possible storms next month."
According to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency, provinces located along the Mae Kong River were badly hit by the 2011 flood, resulting in damage to 370,522 rai of land. The three worst-hit provinces were Nakhon Phanom, Udon Thani and Sakon Nakhon.