ADRC Highlights
Asian Disaster Reduction Center Monthly News
●Natural Disaster ReportVol. 225
December
2011TOPICS
Natural DisasterReport
The 2011 Thailand
FloodsParticipation inInternationalConferences¶ The 2nd Safety
Conference, Qatar
Vision 2030 “CenturyChallenges”¶ United Nations
International Conferenceon Space-based
Technologies for
Disaster Risk
Management
Announcements
The 8th Sentinel Asia
System (SAS) Operation
Training

Asian DisasterReduction Center
Higashikan 5F, 1-5-2
Wakinohamakaigan-dori,Chuo-ku, Kobe
651-0073 Japan
Tel: 078-262-5540
Fax: 078-262-5546
editor@adrc.asia
http://www.adrc.asia© ADRC 2011

The 2011 Thailand Floods
Unprecedented level and nature of disaster impact
The year 2011 has been marked by two particularly notable natural disasters: theGreat East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, and the massive floods in Thailand.
While the flooding in Thailand is still continuing and even expanding toward thesouthern provinces, The Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) has been
consulting with relevant organizations
regarding what types of support will beboth needed and feasible during therecovery and restoration phases. As partof these activities, ADRC sent a staff
member to Bangkok, from 29 November
to 2 December to assess the situation andidentify areas in which ADRC might beable to provide support. This was doneby consulting with relevantorganizations including the Thaigovernment, UN agencies, and otherdisaster management organizations.
The massive floods in the Chao Phraya basin have been graduallyexpanding downstream since last October, devastating Ayutthaya province in thecentral region and the Bangkok metropolitan area and its environs. A s of 6
December, approximately 1.75 million households and 4.7 million people had
been affected. These figures include 684 deaths and three missing persons,according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) ofthe Thai Ministry of Interior. At the beginning of December, the overall situation
seemed to be improving somewhat, as water began subsiding in many affectedareas and some factories resumed operations. However, the flood risk is stillpresent, and it is likely to take quite some time before economic activity is
restored to pre-flood levels. According to one estimate, the Thai floods rank as thefourth largest disaster in terms of economic damage, behind the 2011 Great East
Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the 1995 Great
Hanshin-Awaji (Kobe) Earthquake, in that order. The economic damage levels
currently being reported primarily take into account direct damage to assets, but
do not necessarily include the indirect costs and losses of profit, especially thoseincurred due to the disruption of supply/production chains not only in Thailand
but around the world.
Priorities in recovery process and current efforts
At individual factories, the highest priority is replacing damaged production
equipment and reestablishing production lines. A scarcity of necessary equipment
and competent professionals may hamper early restoration efforts. Measures must
be taken to improve protective facilities and raise the level of embankments inpreparation for future flood risks. Great efforts must also be taken to retain skilledworkers as well as to maintain hard-won supply and production networks and to1

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Continued
sustain relationships with local partners.
ADRC’s initiatives
Many aid and UN agencies and research institutes have been
already operating in the field. For example, the Japan
International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has provided
emergency supplies, such as food, water, and tents, as well as
special vehicles to help with water drainage, and has offeredsupport to affected factories and agricultural sector industries.
ADRC has been consulting with the Thai government and with
the UN and other agencies in Thailand to identify areas where
support is both possible and desirable. In the process, ADRC iscarefully examining how industries have been affected by the floods and is exploring ways to mitigate
possible damages. It may also prove useful to examine such topics as the disaster preparation of businesses
and residents, including disaster communications, the management of emergency shelters, and housing
recovery in the reconstruction process by comparing cases in Thailand with past cases in Japan. To do this,ADRC will continue to consult with relevant organizations and initiate relevant activities, as deemed●Participation in International Conferences
The 2nd Safety Conference, Qatar Vision 2030 “Century Challenges”
The 3rd Civil Defence Exhibition and Conference was organized by the government of Qatar from 14 to16 November 2011 in Doha Qatar. The 2nd Security Conference (forum) was held as a side event at thisconference. Seven officials and specialists involved in disasterrisk management, including an ADRC researcher, were invited
to the forum to deliver presentations. ADRC discussed thedamage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
in March of this year, as well as the lessons learned from thatdisaster. Other presenters spoke about a broad range of issues,
including both man-made and natural disasters, such as climatechange, the challenges posed by high-rise building disasters, andinformation dissemination. More than 200 officials, experts, andjournalists from Qatar participated in the forum, actively
exchanging views and opinions and demonstrating a strong
interest in disaster risk management.
United Nations International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk
Management (Beijing)
The UN International Conference on Space-based Technologies for Disaster Risk Management wasorganized by the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs and the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s
Republic of China from 22 to 25 November 2011 in Beijing, China. The conference attracted more than
100 people, including disaster management officials, professionals from space-related organizations(particularly those involved in remote sensing technologies), scholars, and representatives of disasterNGOs.
At this conference, topics related to the following sub-themes were enthusiastically discussed:
1) Global space-based resources for disaster management
2) Portals and platforms contributing to disaster risk management and emergency response3) Rapid response mapping4) International/regional rapid mapping initiatives/practices
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Continued5) Initiatives promoting the use of space-based information in disaster risk management
At the conference, ADRC gave a presentation entitled "ADRC Activities in Sentinel Asia, and theEffectiveness of Satellite Images After the Great East Japan Earthquake." We talked about efforts to obtainemergency satellite observations by working in partnership with the other countries of Asia, and sharedstories about the measures taken in response to the Great East Earthquake within the context of thatframework.
●Announcements
The 8th Sentinel Asia System (SAS) Operation Training
Recruitment of participants concerning 8th Sentinel Asia System (SAS) Operation Training for Applicantsfrom the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)-Participants Deadline : January 06-Location : Kasetsart University ( Bangkok, Thailand )https://sentinel.tksc.jaxa.jp/sentinel2/capaBuild.action

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