THAILANDI.

Natural hazards in Thailand

1.1

Natural Hazards likey to affect the country

Drought, earthquake, epidemic, flood, slides, wave/surge, wild fires,
windstorms
1.2 Recent major disasters
year
2005
2005
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004

dis_subset
Drought
Storm
Flash Flood
Flash Flood
Mudflow
TsunamiStorm
Typhoonkilled
00
9
2
38345
13
1

total_affecteddam (US ‘000s)―

250000246

1500
500000
2000
110
67007
5050
4000

―
―
―

405200――Source: "EM-DAT: The OFDA/CRED International Disaster Database,www.em-dat.net - Université catholique de Louvain - Brussels - Belgium"
December 2004’s Tsunami: the Most Catastrophic Disaster in Thai
At 07.58 a.m., of 26 December 2004, the massive earthquake magnitudeof 9.0, the strongest in the world since 1964, struck deep under the
Indian Ocean off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, and triggered thecataclysmic tidal wave that slammed on the Andaman coastal provinces,southern Thailand. The catastrophic incident devastated 6 provinces
namely, Phuket, Trang, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong and Satun.
Right after the tsunami waves ebbed, the relief activities wereimmediately and continuously activated. It is widely accepted thatThailand had led an effective relief efforts and response immediately on
the day of tsunami strike. As the consequence, Thailand had achieved
the rapid success in relief operation within a few months later. The key
factors in the effectiveness of relief response can be delineated as follows;•••

The synergy of Thai people from all walks of life to provide allkinds of assistance to their suffered countrymen.
The close and integrated collaboration and cooperation among thecivil, military, police, NGOs, charitable foundations, civil defence
volunteers etc.
The influx of endless support and humanitarian assistance frominternational communities, organizations, NGOs near and far.

Sources: Thailand Country Report 2006, WCDR Report

The Royal Thai Government, private sector and NGOs, havecontinuously launched restoration activities to enhance livelihoods andrebuild the environments of the affected people and areas following theinitial phase of rescue and humanitarian relief. Simultaneously, hasconducted preparedness activities so as to reduce the vulnerability andincrease the resilience in the tsunami hit communities. Theinternational communities, NGOs and United Nations mechanisms also
continue to endlessly support Thailand in these humanitarian assistanceactivities.
II.

Disaster Management system

2.1 Administrative system

Conventional long form:
Conventional short form:
Government type:
Capital:Administrative divisions:

Kingdom of Thailand
Thailand
constitutional monarchy
Bangkok
76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural)

2.2 Legal system, legal framework
The Civil Defence Act of 1997 has classified disasters into 3 categories:
1) Man-made and natural disasters
2) Disaster resulted air raid during wartime3) Disaster resulted from sabotage or terrorist attack
Disaster management system in Thailand has mainly based on Civil
Defence Act of 1979 and the Civil Defence Plan 2002. The Natural Civil
Defence Committee (NCDC) is the main policy making body. Prior toOctober 2002, the erstwhile Civil Defence Division of Department ofProvincial Administration(thethenDepartmentofLocal
Administration, Ministry of Interior), had been in charge of the Nation
Civil Defence Committee Secretariat. After October 2, 2002 Thaigovernment has enacted the Bureaucrat Reform Act 2002, Department ofDisaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), has come into existence
under the umbrella of Ministry of Interior and has been designated toshoulder responsibility of disaster management of the country and hasthus, replaced the former Civil Defence Division as the National Civil
Defence Committee Secretariat.
2.3 Structure of Disaster Management
In 2002, Thailand established the Department of Disaster Prevention
and Mitigation (DDPM), under the Ministry of Interior, as the principal
agency for disaster management coordination among all cgencies

Sources: Thailand Country Report 2006, WCDR Reportconcerned at all levels. As regards disaster risk reduction, DDPM shallconduct activities in coordination with other agencies such as: theMetorological Department (TMD), Minsitry of Information Technology,Royal Irrigation Department (RID), Ministry of Agriculture andCooperatives, Deaprtment of Water Resources, Ministry of Natural
Resource and Environment.
National Civil Defense Committee (NCDC)
It coordinates all activities relevant to civil defence and disastermanagement. The National Civil Defence Committee performs allfunctions relevant to management of disaster at national level, such as
formulation of Civil Defence Master Plan, evaluation of theimplementation of the above-mentioned plan by an audit mission,organizing annual or periodical training courses on civil defence anddisaster management for government officials at all levels and for thegeneral public, issuing regulations on the payment of remuneration,compensation and other expenditures relevant to civil defence anddisaster management activities carried out by all agencies concerned.
National Safety Council of Thailand (NSCT)
Apart from National Civil Defence Committee, Thailand has anotherdisaster management related mechanism which has highlighted its tasks
and responsibility on man-made disaster management only… that is“The National Safety Council of Thailand” (NSCT). The NSCT has been
established in 1982 on the ground of the problem of road traffic accidentsin Thailand which annually resulted in the tremendous loss of lives,properties and national economy. Later on, its responsibilities have been
extended to cover the prevention of chemical accident, occupationalaccident, accident in home and public venues, considering preventive
measure of fire in high-rise building, accident prevention in subway
tunnel construction, providing education of safety etc.
National Disaster Warning Center
The National Disaster Warning Center was established under the Orderof the Office of the Prime Minister. It is a Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra’s commitments to protect lives and properties of Thai people
and foreign visitors by setting up the National Warning Center as soon
as possible. The major task of the National Disaster Warning Center isto detect earthquake and to analyze seismic data to determine thepossibility of a Tsunami generation before issuing notification messages
to the public and related authorities and rescuers for evacuation ofpeople into safe places. This is to prevent the loss of people’s lives andproperties as much as possible. From now on, the National Disaster
Warning Center will be developed, upgraded of its early warning systemand extended its telecommunication networks to be able to cope withmulti-hazards disasters apart from Tsunamis

Sources: Thailand Country Report 2006, WCDR Report2.4 Priority on disaster reduction management
Priority on disaster risk management
Thailand urgently needs to reform disaster management systems andmechanisms as follows:1.

Public Awareness and Education. Improve public safety of every

sector particularly those who are living with risk by enhancing people’s
understanding of the threats posed by various types of disasters.

2. Materializing Early Warning Systems: Following the catastrophic
tsunami disaster in 2004, Thailand took immediate action to establish
National Disaster Warning Center, which covers the warning of bothnatural and man-made disasters.
3. Establishing More International Disaster Management Networks:
Thailand needs to enhance the country’s disaster management capacityand efficiency through the mobilization of technical assistance fromforeign countries, particularly from developed and advanced countries.
4. Effective Damage Assessment: Remote Survey technology must be
introduced to effectively assess the damages caused by large scaledisaster. The staff of the agencies concerned needs to be trained toenhance their capacity in applying satellite images to assess the damage.
5. Application of Community-Centered Approach: Local Authority andcommunity are in the front line in the event of disaster occurrence,consequently, they are the most vulnerable and effected. It isindispensable to enhance their potentials in responding to disasters, andto equip them with awareness and preparedness.
6. Highlight on Preventive Approach: The new approach of disastermanagement has shifted its focus from “assistance” or “relief” to“prevention”. In this regard, risk reduction to be vigorously taken into
account. So as to reduce the risk, both structural and non-structural
measures should be materialized, thus, the cost of risk reduction will
yield invaluable rate of return when compared with the cost of disasterdamage.
7. The Focus on Prevention: Proactive disaster management can reducethe damage and impact substantially.

8. The Focus on Public Participation: The past disaster management inThailand had underlined the roles of government agencies and simply
ignored private sectors, non – government organization, communities
and even the public. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of cooperation

Sources: Thailand Country Report 2006, WCDR Reportamong agencies concerned. This is a real challenge for DDPM to bringthese stakeholders together.

9. The Focus on Unity in Management: The application of the Incident
Command System (ICS) will demonstrate unity in management.

10. The Focus on Efficient Communication: The efficient communication

system consists of the major system and the reserved system, which arevital for disaster management.

11. The Focus on Human Resource Development: Human resource
development is a key factor for disaster management.

12. Livelihood Rehabilitation: Livelihood rehabilitation activities such ascommunity development, vocational training, improving the standards ofliving should be immediately materialized to normalize disaster victims’means of living.
III.

Disaster management plan

The Civil Defence Secretariat is responsible for identifying disasterprevention measure and policies and the National Civil Defence Plan.
This Plan serves as the master plan for all agencies concerned, andprovides guidelines for the formulation of operational plan of agenciesresponsible for management of disaster. The Civil Defence Secretariat
does not only implement policies, but also provides equipment, technicalassistance and training courses for local agencies and the public. It also
coordinates with agencies that are in charge of disaster relief and rescueoperations.
According to the Civil Defence Act 1979, the functional agencies areresponsible for formulating their own disaster management plan. The
master disaster management plan which is regarded as a national civil
defence plan is to be made by the Civil Defence Secretariat. The Plan is
to be reviewed and updated every three year term, and further proposedto the National Civil Defence Committee for approval. The current
national civil defence plan which was reviewed and updated in 2005
consists of two components, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
Component, and Civil Defence for Security (Rear-Area Protection)
Component.
IV.

Budget size at the national level

DDPM Annual Budget: The first source of disaster reduction is from
Departement of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation’s annual budget.
The table below shows the amount of budget, which has been allocated toSources: Thailand Country Report 2006, WCDR ReportDDPM during fiscal year of 2003-2006.
Fiscal Year
2003
2004
2005
2006

DDPM Annual Budget
1,066 THB
1,312 THB
1,865 THB
2,438 THBV.

Progress and situations of the Hyogo Framework of Action

VI.

Projects on disaster reduction

1. One Tambon-One-Search and Rescue Team (OTOS)This project aims to equip every tambon (sub-district) in Thailand
with at least one SAR (search and rescue) team within 2008.
2. Disaster Management Training for managers, practicioners, local
government officers and others through DDPM’s Disaster Preventionand Mitigation Academy (DPMA)
Established by Ministry of Interior, DPMA is now a principle
educational institution in disaster management field.
3. Education for Disaster-Preparedness in Primary School
This project is 4-month long (January – April 2006). The Asian
Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) has played a leading role withsupports from Thailand’s Ministry of Education and DDPM.
Objectives of the project are: a) to strengthen disaster preparedness
capacity in primary schools b) to build teacher capacity for disaster
preparedness and management and c) to disseminate knowledge oftsunami and other natural disasters to the children at schools.
VII.

Counterpart of ADRC
Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation
Ministry of Interior
U-Thong Nok Road, Dusit, Bangkok 10300 THAILAND

Sources: Thailand Country Report 2006, WCDR Report