Bangkok At Risk From Natural Disasters: World Bank

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Bangkok at risk from natural disasters: World Bank
Uraiwan Poovijitsuthin
The Nation


Bangkok, file photo

BANGKOK: -- The World Bank yesterday warned that Bangkok faced a high risk of natural disaster, especially massive flooding that could cause huge economic losses.

It suggested that policy-makers make three preparations to deal with disasters: optimise the effectiveness of the Bt350-billion water-management budget; ensure cooperation among agencies assigned to analyse and study legal aspects of disaster issues; and develop city plans that minimise disaster risks from urban expansion, said World Bank official Abhas Jha.

Jha, sector manager for transport, urban and disaster risk management for East Asia and the Pacific for the bank, also praised the government for its quick and effective resolution of the flood disaster in 2011.

"The Thai government has budgeted Bt350 billion to invest in water management, which will lead to fast rehabilitation of the Thai economy. [Efficient] space utilisation and having good plans for land use and planning to serve the expansion of cities at the highest efficiency to [make urban centres less vulnerable] will be a new challenge for Thailand's policy-makers. With the strong growth of urbanisation, the Kingdom faces a serious problem [deciding where] its production and industrial sectors should be located."

Bert Hofman, the World Bank's chief economist for the East Asia and Pacific region, said major cities including Bangkok had faced increasing risk of disasters as they lacked good urban planning. This has the potential to cause huge economic losses despite the strong growth the region currently enjoys.

"More than 50 per cent of the population of East Asia lives in cities such as Bangkok, Jakarta and Manila. The high expansion of cities within the region is of concern as it creates higher risks of disasters. The expansion of cities will increase continuously in the next 30 years and [oblige] the governments in this region to launch good management techniques to protect their countries from disasters," he said.

According to the World Bank's report, there is uneven capacity and readiness to invest in disaster risk management (DRM) among the countries of East Asia and the Pacific. The region includes developed countries with sophisticated institutions and instruments to manage the risks of disasters effectively (Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, New Zealand), countries that have made considerable steps in mainstreaming DRM into development (China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam), and countries that face severe capacity and institutional constraints (Cambodia, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pacific island countries).

Small Pacific islands, Papua New Guinea and East Timor face serious challenges in their ability to recover from disasters. Significant capacity and funding gaps also exist between the central and local levels of government, as well as between rural and urban areas.

Low-income countries are unprepared and underfunded for their task of managing risk and leading recovery, and this is particularly true for local-level institutions. For example, globally, fewer than 20 per cent of low- and lower-middle-income countries invest in land-use planning, fewer than 30 per cent of low-income countries invest in landslide-mitigation measures, and fewer than 50 per cent of low-income countries invest in drainage infrastructure to mitigate flooding.

Many countries in East Asia and the Pacific have made advances in DRM at the national level in formulating legislation and strategies, but implementation remains a challenge. Local-level institutions lack the appropriate budgets, human resources, and technical capacity in their role as first responders and leaders in mainstreaming resilience into local-level investments.

In the past five years, Asia has experienced a large share of wide-scale natural catastrophes, including floods in 2011 in Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines.

The year 2011 was the costliest on record for natural disasters with cascading effects (Japan) and trans-boundary consequences (Thailand), adding up to US$380 billion (Bt11.6 trillion) in economic losses, almost doubling the 2005 record of $262 billion. In the first nine months in 2011, East Asia sustained about 80 per cent of all disaster losses worldwide.

Growth of assets and population in harm's way is the single largest driver of disaster risk. Asia's urbanisation is unique in terms of growth of population, cities and densities. From 1980 to 2010, Asia added more than a billion people to its cities - more than all other regions combined - and another billion dwellers will live in cities by 2040.

Urban Asia has high population densities and most of the world's mega-cities - by 2025, their number is expected to increase to 21 out of a global total of 37. Growth of assets and mega-cities means that multibillion-dollar disasters are becoming more widespread in the region.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Extreme Events and the latest scientific evidence, long-term trends in normalised losses have not been attributed to natural or man-made climate change. Unplanned or poorly planned rapid urbanisation creates highly vulnerable communities, particularly through informal settlements and inadequate land management.


-- The Nation 2013-06-04

[Bellweather]

What about the man made disasters and I mean those made by one man ?

[rookball]

flooding isnt natural at all. its a bloody man made disaster

[geriatrickid]

I suggest that Thailand is more at risk from its inability to respond to a pandemic.

[khunron13]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

[Thai at Heart]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

They made it worse, but the rainfall was way above average. There would probably have been some flooding, but nowhere near what did happen.

[laurentbkk]

Do I need to start to move to the first floor with all my belongings like in 2011 ?

[MaxLee]

Nothing new, and the responsible government mafia agencies again couldn't care less, other than creating an image with their mega projects to please the international public, while the real objective again... THE REAL OBJECTIVE is "to bid for enough money under the table THROUGH those Megaprojects to "enrich themselves first", "Pay compensation", "have enough money for the next election campaign to pay the voters under the table..."

[DocN]

What about the man made disasters and I mean those made by one man ?

Why don't you go over to the Thai-food section and make a Thaksin -comment there as well.

About as sensible, as doing it here!

[Bellweather]

What about the man made disasters and I mean those made by one man ?

Why don't you go over to the Thai-food section and make a Thaksin -comment there as well.

About as sensible, as doing it here!

Wow that's deep.

[Payboy]

I suggest that Thailand is more at risk from its inability to respond to a pandemic.

Easy if they deliver the vaccines mixed with skin whitening lotion.

[bobl]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

It's easy to control rain?

So in 2012 all the panicking flappers drained the dams in case there was a repeat, had an unusually LOW amount of rain, and ended up with no water - until now 2013 most of the dams are well below their optimum level and they're struggling to keep water flowing. Dry khlong everywhere.

If there's a repeat of 2012's lack of a substantial rainy season this year, Thailand is in deep doggy-doo.

Yeah, predicting and controlling the weather is real easy...

[MEL1]

If there is going to be effective 'optimisation' of the 350M Baht, first the relevant authorities need to find it or see what's left of it, and then put a halt to the 35% of it automatically dissapearing as graft for the people that spend it.

-mel.

[Baerboxer]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

It's easy to control rain?

So in 2012 all the panicking flappers drained the dams in case there was a repeat, had an unusually LOW amount of rain, and ended up with no water - until now 2013 most of the dams are well below their optimum level and they're struggling to keep water flowing. Dry khlong everywhere.

If there's a repeat of 2012's lack of a substantial rainy season this year, Thailand is in deep doggy-doo.

Yeah, predicting and controlling the weather is real easy...

We've seen dramatic changes in weather patterns, and some pretty awful effects in many countries over the last few years. Floods, unusual snowfalls, heat waves, tornados etc etc.

But, the government here is particularly inept at preparing, planning and managing any kind of emergency. Knee jerk reactions, meaningless dramatic media anouncements, large budgets, which no one is sure where it goes, and corrupt profiteering rule.

The army did a great job last time and without them the situation would have been considerable worse. As for the government, what has actually been tangibly put in place since the last "lesson".

[britinthai]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

It's easy to control rain?

So in 2012 all the panicking flappers drained the dams in case there was a repeat, had an unusually LOW amount of rain, and ended up with no water - until now 2013 most of the dams are well below their optimum level and they're struggling to keep water flowing. Dry khlong everywhere.

If there's a repeat of 2012's lack of a substantial rainy season this year, Thailand is in deep doggy-doo.

Yeah, predicting and controlling the weather is real easy...

If it is easy to control rain then why is there so much flooding in other parts of the world? And why is there so much drought in other parts of the world. Obviously there are ways to mitigate the mass destruction, by flood prevention schemes but it all costs money and like the western world, what flood prevention is in place did not happen over night. Thailand has come a long way and will make decisions in their own interest, as have the western world in how and what priority comes first.

[tigergrl]

they did a pretty good job of preparing in chiang mai. they just let all the water go down to bangkok..

[Thai at Heart]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

It's easy to control rain?

So in 2012 all the panicking flappers drained the dams in case there was a repeat, had an unusually LOW amount of rain, and ended up with no water - until now 2013 most of the dams are well below their optimum level and they're struggling to keep water flowing. Dry khlong everywhere.

If there's a repeat of 2012's lack of a substantial rainy season this year, Thailand is in deep doggy-doo.

Yeah, predicting and controlling the weather is real easy...

If it is easy to control rain then why is there so much flooding in other parts of the world? And why is there so much drought in other parts of the world. Obviously there are ways to mitigate the mass destruction, by flood prevention schemes but it all costs money and like the western world, what flood prevention is in place did not happen over night. Thailand has come a long way and will make decisions in their own interest, as have the western world in how and what priority comes first.

If only some wonderful scientific institute would offer to come to Thailand and study the rainfall patterns for free with world class scientists and equipment. We might learn so much, huh?

[monkeycountry]

35% of 350 billion baht will make white lamborghinis the best selling car of the year!

[SOTIRIOS]

.....good luck........

[Robby nz]

BKK should have no problems, after all the administration was promised seamless co-operation by the Govt after the recent election.

[SSSlongtime]

climate change look at europe now austria, germany ,Uk never stops raining ,where did all the trees go in thailand ,was there in the 70s ,when i came back in the 90s thought i got the wrong country

[asiamaster]

What about the man made disasters and I mean those made by one man ?

Why don't you go over to the Thai-food section and make a Thaksin -comment there as well.

About as sensible, as doing it here!

Did not see Bellweather using the T -word....

[samjaidee]

What about the man made disasters and I mean those made by one man ?

Why don't you go over to the Thai-food section and make a Thaksin -comment there as well.

About as sensible, as doing it here!

Wow that's deep.

Deep or not; he's quite right.

[samjaidee]

What about the man made disasters and I mean those made by one man ?

Why don't you go over to the Thai-food section and make a Thaksin -comment there as well.

About as sensible, as doing it here!

Did not see Bellweather using the T -word....

It's implied. Who did you think he was referring to?

[IDL]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

They made it worse, but the rainfall was way above average. There would probably have been some flooding, but nowhere near what did happen.

Just to add a little irony to this: my area (riverside/Klong San) has partial flooding annually (not reaching the road, but requiring a paddle if one is to get to the river ferry) -12 years to my own knowledge. However, the big floods of 2011 saw the water redirected, thus not even enough water to breach the banks where it normally does. Leaving me to believe that if it were natural (due to mass abnormal [seasonal] downfall), we would have flooded [as per the norm] along with the other areas...?

Water management is what is needed, regardless of how light/heavy the rainfall is. Predicting the inevitable. Communicating/uniting as a national body [water management team]. Seeing beyond just the state/responsibilities of one's own outpost. The moment it becomes a free-for-all, anarchy reigns...hey, perhaps I've just [unwittingly] described the country. Oops!

[a99az]

Relocate most of the capital, like Burma has done.

[Thai at Heart]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

They made it worse, but the rainfall was way above average. There would probably have been some flooding, but nowhere near what did happen.

Just to add a little irony to this: my area (riverside/Klong San) has partial flooding annually (not reaching the road, but requiring a paddle if one is to get to the river ferry) -12 years to my own knowledge. However, the big floods of 2011 saw the water redirected, thus not even enough water to breach the banks where it normally does. Leaving me to believe that if it were natural (due to mass abnormal [seasonal] downfall), we would have flooded [as per the norm] along with the other areas...?

Water management is what is needed, regardless of how light/heavy the rainfall is. Predicting the inevitable. Communicating/uniting as a national body [water management team]. Seeing beyond just the state/responsibilities of one's own outpost. The moment it becomes a free-for-all, anarchy reigns...hey, perhaps I've just [unwittingly] described the country. Oops!

The rainfall up country that year was 40 to 50% over average throughout April through June/July. It had to go somewhere, but unfortunately, I believe that with the elections coming up, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE took their eye off the ball, and then, reportedly some dip***t manipulated the release of the water so that some farming areas would be able to harvest their rice for political benefit.

I can just imagine it. Everopne in the irrigation department must have known that the damns were completely full and that more was coming, but no one wanted to put their head above the parapet to tell anyone that there was a problem brewing because the entire civil service was keeping their heads down waiting for the new boss to arrive after the election.

[johnlandy]

I don't see much evidence of "Thai bashing' here (where there is plenty of scope and justification for it)

Everything that they could have done wrong they did, and this was being predicted 25 years ago. Filing in canals etc., they did it.

Lack of disaster mitigation plans etc. There weren't any. If they are serious they would seek the advice of Dutch engineers but no, the local powers that be, know best.

Just like the quarry incident yesterday they don't need help do they?, they can screw it up nicely on their own 'thank you very much'

[IDL]

The floods of 2011 were not a natural disaster. The rain and subsequent flooding could have easily been controlled! Instead those in charge of such things waited until it was too late, as usual!

It's easy to control rain?

So in 2012 all the panicking flappers drained the dams in case there was a repeat, had an unusually LOW amount of rain, and ended up with no water - until now 2013 most of the dams are well below their optimum level and they're struggling to keep water flowing. Dry khlong everywhere.

If there's a repeat of 2012's lack of a substantial rainy season this year, Thailand is in deep doggy-doo.

Yeah, predicting and controlling the weather is real easy...

If it is easy to control rain then why is there so much flooding in other parts of the world? And why is there so much drought in other parts of the world. Obviously there are ways to mitigate the mass destruction, by flood prevention schemes but it all costs money and like the western world, what flood prevention is in place did not happen over night. Thailand has come a long way and will make decisions in their own interest, as have the western world in how and what priority comes first.

If only some wonderful scientific institute would offer to come to Thailand and study the rainfall patterns for free with world class scientists and equipment. We might learn so much, huh?

555, that's been tried and tested, though in other ways...doesn't work.

Here's a good'n: a few years ago the gov employed a UK firm to come and sort out Bkk's traffic light system. Long story short, shy of the [team's] contractual re-visit to study/tweak/sign-off the project, they were contacted and told the whole thing was a failure!

Seemingly unbeknown to the [Thai] officials, the firm had left a skeleton crew in place to monitor the productivity/success (and report back regularly) of what was implemented. The company produced untold amount of evidence to prove that the BIBs had taken over [the hugely expensive computerized system] manually. Anarchy!

[gemini81]

I'm more worried about the ineptitude here resulting in problems, rather than mother nature directly. Careful what you invest in here