Abstract
Like many other countries in Asian region, Thailand has been affected by various natural disasters including flash floods and landslides. The 2006 flash floods and landslide in the northern part of the country have affected 4 provinces leaving 87 people dead, 29 missing with more than 4,000 houses left totally and partially damaged. Exclusive of cost of damaged houses and individual property, the estimated total cost of damage is THB 308,615,331.
The paper investigates the vulnerability and risk of the communities living in the hilly parts of Uttaradit and Sukhothai Provinces in the Northern Thailand that are frequently hit by flash floods and landslides. The root causes of the impacts of the disasters are further discussed based on findings from fieldwork conducted a month after occurrence of the disaster event.
Learning from the flash floods and landslide disasters in the Northern Thailand, the paper recommends effective flashfloods and landslide management strategy that can empower local governments in Thailand to manage flashfloods and landslide risk thus reducing future impacts on vulnerable communities.
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Notes
- 1.
Bangkok Post has prepared interactive flood history including affected areas and estimated loss, available at http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/204999/ (access date: 25 May 2011)
- 2.
The local volunteers have undergone training courses on landslide hazards, rainfall and water level monitoring, landslide warning and development of local prevention and mitigation plan.
- 3.
According to NOAA, if winds reach 33 m/s (64 kt, 74 mph), then it is called “hurricane” (if it occurs in the North Atlantic Ocean, the Northeast Pacific Ocean east of the dateline, or the South Pacific Ocean east of 160E), “typhoon” (the Northwest Pacific Ocean west of the dateline), “severe tropical cyclone” (the Southwest Pacific Ocean west of 160E or Southeast Indian Ocean east of 90E), “severe cyclonic storm” (the North Indian Ocean) and “tropical cyclone” (the Southwest Indian Ocean). Australian’s Bureau of Meteorology defines cyclone as “a tropical depression of sufficient intensity to produce sustained gale force winds (at least 63 km/h).” A “severe tropical cyclone” produces sustained hurricane force winds (at least 118 km/h).
References
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DMR (2011) Landslides in Thailand. http://www.dmr.go.th/main.php?filename=landslide_En. Retrieved 25 May 2011
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Acknowledgments
We would like to express our gratitude to a team of geologists from Department of Mineral Resources (Dr. Wisut Chotikasathien, Mr. Kritapob Akarawinthawong and Mr. Pradit Noolo) for providing us assistance during the field visit. Technical comments from Dr. Duccio Naldini and Dr. Senaka Basnayake from ADPC are greatly acknowledged.
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Usamah, M., Arambepola, N. (2013). Lessons Learned from the 2006 Flashfloods and Landslide in Uttaradit and Sukhothai Provinces: Implication for Effective Landslide Disaster Risk Management in Thailand. In: Margottini, C., Canuti, P., Sassa, K. (eds) Landslide Science and Practice. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31319-6_88
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31319-6_88
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