The Ministry of Public Health has set up a field hospital in eastern Bangkok to provide medical services to people in the area, especially those in the Khlong Chan, Rom Klao and Ram Inthra housing estates, which are currently flooded to depths ranging from 30cm to 1.5m.
Officials are busily working to drain water out of the Saen Saeb Canal through the Phra Khanong tunnel into the Chao Phraya River, to reduce the floodwater levels in the Khlong Chan and Rom Klao housing estates. The system has the capacity to drain 51 million cubic metres of water per day and it is expected to take about two days to drain the two housing estates.
Ekkapob Pianpises, spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office, said that rain clouds are moving towards Tak and Kamphaeng Phet provinces and rain is expected to fall on the Bhumibol Dam reservoir and the Ping River, adding that the situation is not a matter of concern because the reservoir still has a lot of spare capacity to store water.
The Chao Phraya Dam is currently discharging water downstream at a rate of 2,000m3/s and that rate may be increased, but this will not affect Bangkok because the floodwall can withstand up to 3,000m3/s. The level of Chao Phraya River is still a metre below the top of the floodwall.
For areas outside the floodwall, he said that officials have installed additional pumps to drain water out.
The spokesperson said that the overall situation in Bangkok is improving as no rain clouds are being detected, but some roads, mostly on the eastern side, are still under about 30cm of water.
