Flooding Damages 1,267 Businesses Across 40 Provinces
Severe flooding has damaged 1,267 businesses across 40 Thai provinces, with preliminary losses estimated at 22.18 million baht as of late September 2024. The government is providing debt suspension assistance and rehabilitation support whil
Industry Minister Warawuth Silpawacha revealed that severe rainfall and flooding in multiple areas have damaged factories, small and medium enterprises, industrial estates, and surrounding communities. As of September 28, 2024, the Crisis Management Center under the Industry Ministry reported 1,267 affected businesses across 40 provinces—comprising 52 factories, 1,162 SMEs, 2 mining operations, and 51 community enterprises—with preliminary damage valued at 22.18 million baht. Affected operators have requested help including debt payment suspension, rehabilitation loans, machinery repairs, and essential supplies. Preliminary data shows 1,081 affected businesses, of which 204 have already received debt payment suspension assistance totaling 769.06 million baht, while emergency capital injection measures for business rehabilitation have not yet been utilized.
The Industrial Estates Authority of Thailand designated two high-risk industrial parks for monitoring: Amata City in Chon Buri, where flooding ranges from 10-20 centimeters in phases 1-5 and approximately 70 centimeters in phases 7-9 from street level, and Bang Pli Industrial Park. Amata City is operating 26 water pumps at full capacity, totaling 43,000 cubic meters per hour, to expedite drainage. Bang Pli's soi 1-2 has standing water of 30-80 centimeters on road surfaces, while water from Sam Rong Canal continues to flow into factory fence areas, keeping water levels stable. Soi 3-7 remains flood-free and retains water capacity for additional rainfall.
Bang Chan, Bang Pu North, and Smart Park industrial estates show improving conditions or are actively draining. Bang Pu North has 5-10 centimeters of standing water on some roads but remains passable for small vehicles. Mab Taphut Industrial Park has no surface flooding, and Laem Chabang Industrial Park maintains continuous water flow and drainage. The authority continues increasing pumping capacity and monitoring high-risk estates. Bang Pu Industrial Park operates 100,000 cubic meters per hour of combined pumping capacity with CCTV surveillance, automated drainage control systems, and rainfall monitoring equipment. Industrial parks in Ayutthaya province—Nakhon Luang, Bang Pa-in, and Ban Wa (Hi-Tech)—continue monitoring water levels and maintaining 24-hour flood emergency readiness.
The Industry Ministry is deploying multiple concurrent measures, including the Rebuild SMEs program and D-Ready initiative by the Department of Industrial Promotion to assess and rehabilitate affected businesses, fee exemptions for factories in disaster areas, and credit and debt suspension through SME D Bank, the SME Fund under the People's Participatory approach, and the Department of Industrial Promotion's revolving fund. Additionally, the Department of Industrial Works, the Department of Industrial Promotion, and provincial industrial offices will coordinate with educational institutions and capable agencies to repair and restore machinery damaged by flooding.
