Bangkok governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra announced last night Oct. 17 in a solemn televised address that a new large volume of runoff has been detected and that northern parts of the capital could be flooded within the next 48 hours.
“Sai Mai district is the frontline. Don Muang should be on high alert too,” Sukhumbhand said, according to the Bangkok Post.
The warning came only hours after government flood relief agencies announced that the worst was over and that Bangkok was safe, as covered by CoconutsBangkok.
Sukhumband’s press conference was originally supposed to be an emergency address and to air on a cable channel, but it was downgraded to an alert and ran on Modern 9 Channel, the Nation reported.
“Be alert, but please don’t panic. We have 48 hrs to do it. If the reinforcement fails, Sai Mai and Don Muang districts would very likely be hit,” said Sukhumbhand. About 127,000 people could be affected if flooding hit the two districts.
Navanakorn Industrial Estate in Pathum Thani north of Bangkok flooded yesterday, causing major traffic on Pahanyothin Road as workers and residents fled.
