The Thai government plans to establish a daily monitoring centre and devise contingency plans to address the impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Speaking on September 29 after chairing a meeting of the committee tasked with monitoring weather phenomena, Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said a task force will be established to monitor the situation daily, with the director-general of the Meteorological Department as its head and the Commerce Ministry serving as the coordinating agency.

In addition, a disaster warning system is planned to keep the public informed, with contingency plans developed to mitigate the impact, he said.

He added the government wants to create a recovery plan to assist and provide relief to affected regions and sectors.

The government may consider suspending large projects that have not yet indicated results to reallocate their budgets for drought relief measures, such as expediting the construction of small water sources and water intake areas, said Phumtham.

Thai authorities assess that the El Nino and La Nina phenomena are expected to last three years, causing serious impacts on people’s lives and all industries. So it is necessary to issue appropriate response plans to minimize damages./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency