10 Years of Disaster Management in Thailand: An Examination of Policy, Organization and Performance after the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004

Abstract

The Indian Ocean Tsunami hit most of the coastal provinces in the South of Thailand in December 2004. At that time, our emergency management practice was quite haphazard due to the lack of experience, a clear and focused policy, personnel and organizations that can manage disasters in a professional manner. In the year 2014, 10 years after the tsunami, we can still see natural disasters continuing to slap our lands, take people’s lives and damage their property. Besides, natural disasters of today seem to occur more often, more severe and unpredictable, in part, due to the effects of climate change. Are Thai people ready for the next disasters? What has Thailand done over the past 10 years after tsunami in 2004 to make the country more resilient to the impacts of disasters? Is there any area of improvement that the government needs to address? Guided by these questions, the author examines disasters that occurred in Thailand, the policy or plans that have been developed, and organizations set up within the last 10 years to address disaster problems. Using two cases of disaster response, one is the flooding in 2011 and another is the earthquake event in May 2014, the author critically evaluates the performance of the country in coping with major disasters. The paper ends with the discussion of areas that need to be improved if the country wants to be more resilient to the impacts of the next disasters.