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Outspoken Science Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi yesterday urged the government to come clean with the people of Bangkok, as all parts of the capital would be submerged for more than a month.

"If people know the whole truth, their fear will gradually go away and they will instead struggle to live on. So, the government must disclose the real situation," he said.

The head of the National Disaster Warning Centre said the government should immediately provide all the facts without worrying that the truth would cause panic among the public.

People should be warned as early as possible about the flooding of their areas.

The government must clearly provide shelters and their locations should be as close to refugees' homes as possible.

The government should provide public updates every 15 minutes so that people would know where to go to escape flooding.

Traffic cameras could be used to monitor the flood situation and twoway traffic radios to report on the current status.

The public should be alerted clearly on the next area to be flooded.

People were worried because they have not received complete details.

He said he has assessed the situation and believes that all of Bangkok would be inundated for at least one month to oneandahalf months.

Bangkok should learn a lesson from Ayutthaya, as that upstream province has been flooded for weeks and the waters have not subsided yet.

"Ayutthaya has no complications from high tides but Bangkok will also be hit by peak ocean tides," he said.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has opened its sluice gates only about halfway because the city wants to manage the flow of floodwaters.

"I think the BMA is worried too much. The sluice gates' capacity could be used much more," he said.

Bangkok's crisis would reach its most critical point this week, he added.
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