Stakeholder consulatation workshop on the effects of distant large earthquakes on infrastructure in Bangkok: Legal, engineering and risk reduction perspectives

Background

As the occurrence of natural disasters is on the rise, larger populations are at risk, mostly in developing countries. Vulnerability is growing because of unsustainable development and humankind is facing an increasing burden of risk largely because of lack of preventive action and because of decisions about development that are sometimes inappropriately taken at the local, national and international levels. Over the last four decades, scientific knowledge about natural hazards and the technological means of confronting them has expanded greatly.

We must and can through science promote a better understanding of natural disasters: where, when and how they might occur, and what their intensity may be. We must and can continue to improve early warning systems and utilize communication technologies more effectively for the dissemination of alerts about impending disasters. We must and can promote and enforce sound engineering and construction principles. There is no time for gentle reminders about the necessity to pay attention to the risks of disasters; it is time for a wake-up call that will summon an adequate response, a response empowered by a firm political will.

There is now an urgent need to address the communities, households and investors. Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction at the national level and prioritizing risk management in national policies and strategies is a starting point to accelerate progress. To mitigate the risks stemming from natural hazards such as earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, windstorms, landslides, volcanic eruptions, droughts and wildfires, those at risk must be informed of dangers and the protective measures available, and well versed in the skills of prevention and resilience. We need to educate people - in particular young people - about disasters and their far-reaching implications for the way we live. In this way, a culture of prevention will gradually be put in place and there would be fewer deaths, injuries and less destruction when such disasters strike.

In the aftermath of the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) was established on 30th May 2005 to be a national focal point in coordinating end-to-end multi-hazard early warning and mitigation systems. NDWC was established under the Office of the Prime Minister’s Secretary during 2005-2007 and was transferred to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology in 2007.

The NDWC signed a technical cooperation agreement with the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA)/Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) in September 2005 to implement the integration of the tsunami & earthquake decision support system project. The project was carried out successfully from September 2005 to December 2006. The project outcome included the Gap Analysis, Concept of Operation and the Decision Support Platform (DisasterAware) for a multi-hazard model/system on tsunamis and earthquakes. The system can be scalable to include floods & landslides, severe storms, and wild fires, etc.

DisasterAware has been used effectively to provide an automatic early warning for NDWC to disseminate information to disaster managers and the target last miles. The project was very successful. In 2009, at the request of NDWC, PDC developed and submitted a proposal to USTDA for funding to expand DisasterAware to include flooding and landslides. The USTDA approved the proposal and offered a grant to NDWC for PDC to expand the system. NDWC was not able to accept the grant, consequently it was cancelled.

In addition, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Ministry of Interior is a national coordinating body under the Strategic National Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction (2008-2017) in accordance with the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005-2015)2. Once the disaster risk reduction is high on the national agenda, it is very important for Bangkok and Thailand to
move forward in implementing disaster reduction strategies at all levels.

The IOI and its partners in cooperation with the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC),Ministry of Information and Communication Technology; the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited, Foundation of National
Disaster Warning Council (FNDWC) agreed that there is an urgent need to co-organize a stakeholder consultation workshop on the effects of distance large earthquakes on infrastructure in Bangkok: legal, engineering and risk reduction perspectives.

The United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD) informed that the impact of earthquakes on the livelihood of people can be reduced by measures such as adherence to earthquake resistant building designs and construction standards, proper planning, education and training. However, the risk is ever increasing as urbanization in developing countries is adding
extra pressure on building construction. Although those countries have established a building construction system, it can seldom function effectively due to lack of awareness on disaster prevention in communities as well as lack of regulatory mechanisms for effective implementation, monitoring and reviewing.

Thailand, like vast regions of the Basin and Range, has not had a historic large-magnitude earthquake and therefore is not generally considered seismically active. The geologic record, however, suggests that these generally quiescent faults have been the source of large earthquakes and if earthquake processes are comparable to those in the Basin and Range Province, earthquakes as large as M7.1 to M7.3 may occur.

Though Bangkok is located at a remote distance from seismic sources, recent seismic hazard studies show that Bangkok is at risk from damaging ground motions induced by distant large earthquakes. The risk is primarily caused by the ability of thick soft surficial deposits in Bangkok to amplify earthquake ground motions about three to five times. The destructive Andaman-Sumatra Fault to the west of the country and the Sagaing Fault in the east-central Burma basin to the northwest of Thailand are a few hundred kilometers from the nearest cities of the Kingdom.

Nine major fault systems have been identified in Thailand. These include the Thoen Fault, Mae Sariang-Mae Hong Son Fault and Moei-Uthai Thani Fault in the northern and western parts of Thailand; Si Sawat Fault; three Pagoda Faults; Ranong Fault and the Ma Rui Canal Fault. With human lives and livelihoods at stake, every measure capable of reducing risk and mitigating the impact of natural and human-induced disasters must be used to the fullest. This includes incorporating what is known of potential disasters in the planning of development and infrastructure, and taking steps today to lessen the effects of future disasters.

Aims of the meeting

The meeting is entitled “The Effects of Distance Large Earthquakes on Infrastructure in Bangkok: Legal, Engineering and Risk Reduction Perspectives”. The meeting will be focused on effects of distant large earthquakes on infrastructure in Bangkok. The meeting will provide a forum for relevant stakeholders, namely; the BMA, interagency governmental departments relevant to earthquake, private sector and business entrepreneurs, academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations as well as scientists and experts to address the current status of earthquake risks and hazards, to assess national and local capacities in end-to-end early warning and mitigation systems, to identify measures for adaptation and mitigation efforts, to share information and best practices in order to improve disaster prevention and mitigation arrangements for Bangkok.

Expected outcome

It is expected that the meeting will be a major contribution to identify strategic actions and implementation of end-to-end earthquake prevention and risk reduction systems for Bangkok as a result of the deliberations by experts and stakeholders having addressed the specifics of distant large earthquake impacts in Bangkok.