Bangkok people panicked because of flooding alarms

Thai Prime Minister yesterday (October 14) reassured 12 million Bangkok residents, after a false flood warning yesterday caused panic in the capital.

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" The water level is stable and not increasing. Therefore, I hope that people will not panic anymore, " AFP quoted Yingluck Shinawatra, Thai Prime Minister, affirming the situation is under control.

A Thai citizen is keeping the boats tied together
on a truck in floodwaters in Pathum Thani province. (Photo: AFP)

Ms. Yingluck had to speak up after a false alarm about evacuation caused a panic, making the residents clean food and clean water in shops and supermarkets. In Bangkok's suburb of Saimai, local officials receive hundreds of phone calls from worried people, with questions about evacuation alarms being issued.

"A serious traffic jam happened in our district because people tried to bring cars to higher places, but the situation was back to normal ," said district chief Nongpanga Boonpaksa of Saiamai district.

Residents of other suburbs in the north of Bangkok capital also hurriedly carried furniture to higher grounds last night, after the science and technology minister Plodprasop Suraswadi warned of the danger of flooding about a meter in Bangkok due to a dike breakdown.

This false alarm made people confused. Many people put sandbags around their houses, then rushed to buy flashlights, bottled water, instant noodles and many other necessities. Mr. Plodprasop today had to apologize for yesterday's false alarm.

The Thai government is trying to prevent Bangkok from being flooded amid the worst floods in decades. Northern and central Thailand were the hardest hit, leaving at least 289 people dead.

About 110,000 Thai people now live in evacuation zones, while floods have destroyed crops, flooding hundreds of factories, destroying many homes and the livelihoods of millions. Currently 26/77 Thai provinces are affected by floods, but the situation in Bangkok and most of the country's most popular tourist destinations are not flooded.