New method to get set up for disaster alerts
Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the prime minister, has promised to establish a new emergency alert system and expedite settlement payments for flood victims.
She addressed the flood woes and post-inundation restoration efforts at Monday’s second appointment of the flood, wind, and incident position administration and management committee at Government House.
The state has also established a center for flood victims ‘ support, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Phumtham Wechayachai.
According to Ms. Paetongtarn, compensation payment made in accordance with the current standards are not in line with the extensive damage that flooding has caused in some regions.
” Settlement should be quick and sensible. Compensation portions are restricted by the existing standards, but the harm is quite considerable”, the prime minister said, adding the requirements need to be revised to maintain more compensation.
” For example, flooding in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai]district ] lasted three days, but damage was substantial”, she said.
A fresh emergency alert system, known as the “cell spread service,” would be set off, according to Ms. Paetongtarn’s statement.
A fresh alert system, which would send text messages to all mobile phone users in the country in an emergency, would become introduced by mid-2025, according to former state official Chai Wacharonke.
Following a test by True Corp in July, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission ( NBTC ) gave the project the go-ahead. In March, AIS conducted its own tests.
The system will alert all mobile phone users in Thailand, including overseas visitors, when an emergency occurs. The notice will be sent out in five dialects– Thai, English, Chinese, Japanese, and Russian– along with pictures and sound information.
The NBTC, cellular telephone providers, and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation collaborate on the emergency alert system.
Depending on the value, evacuation warnings can be sent to all devices connected to mobile network within a particular specific area or across the country.
A top statewide official reported on Monday that the repair cost for the flood-damaged homes in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai area is estimated at 500 million ringgit. The issue is not over, with some areas of the frontier town also under.
The injury estimate was based on the number of homes and businesses that had been destroyed by the devastating flood in the area, according to Kanchit Chumpoodaeng, chairman of the Hazard Prevention and Mitigation company in Chiang Rai, and the state budget’s standard repair fee, which is 49, 500 baht per house.
He claimed that at least 10,000 homes and businesses in Mae Sai had been confirmed flood-damaged, and that he anticipated that the number would rise as the water drained away and authorities could conduct a thorough survey.
” The figures are only for housing repairs. Other related expenses are not included”, Mr Kanchit said.
Mae Sai district, especially the municipality, was the hardest hit in Chiang Rai province after the Sai River burst its banks on Tuesday last week. It was described as the worst flood in four decades by residents.
Some areas of the district town were still underwater, according to Mr. Kanchit, and Navy SEALs were the only ones who could access them. People who had been stranded by the floodwaters and those who did not want to leave their homes were being airdropped with essential supplies.
Chiang Rai municipality has two temporary shelters for victims, while Mae Sai district has 17 and Chiang Rai has two.
He claimed that Muang District, one of the flooded districts, was gradually returning to normal.
12 people have died so far as Chiang Rai’s flooding, three of whom are still recovering from wounds.