Illustrative photo (Photo: bangkokpost.com)Bangkok (VNA) – The Thai government plans to establish a dailymonitoring centre and devise contingency plans to address the impact of the ElNiño weather phenomenon.
Speaking on September 29 after chairing a meeting of the committee tasked with monitoring weatherphenomena, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said atask force will be established to monitor the situation daily, with thedirector-general of the Meteorological Department as its head and the CommerceMinistry serving as the coordinating agency.
In addition, a disaster warning system is planned tokeep the public informed, with contingency plans developed to mitigate theimpact, he said.
He added the government wants to create a recovery plan to assist and provide relief toaffected regions and sectors.
The government mayconsider suspending large projects that have not yet indicated results toreallocate their budgets for drought relief measures, such as expediting theconstruction of small water sources and water intake areas, said Phumtham.
Thai authorities assess that the El Nino andLa Nina phenomena are expected to last three years, causing serious impacts onpeople's lives and all industries. So it is necessary to issue appropriate response plans tominimize damages./.
