(CTN News) – Sandbag walls and sophisticated flood defenses are growing in industrial estates to prevent the repeat of 3.5 billion baht damages in the 2011 Great Flood.
Thailand is investing over 13 trillion baht (US$354 billion) in flood defenses to defend its industrial areas from this year’s La Niña-fueled monsoon flooding.
2011 Great Flood in Thailand: A Costly Disaster
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) is building sandbag walls and clearing drainage channels at the country’s 68 industrial estates and one industrial port in an effort to prevent a repeat of 2011’s Great Flood.
Large sections of the North and Central regions were submerged for weeks in 2011, when one of the greatest natural catastrophes in 70 years cost the country approximately 1.4 trillion baht and affected 12.8 million people.
Seven significant industrial estates were devastated, resulting in losses of more than 3.5 billion baht and jeopardizing future investment opportunities.
Thailand’s water management authorities are taking steps in response to the expected cooler and wetter weather caused by the La Niña phenomenon starting next month.
The IEAT is evaluating its disaster management strategies and deploying additional water pumps and fuel reserves to protect the 5,000 factories on its estates, which employ 8.5 million people, according to chairman Yuthasak Supasorn.
The IEAT is working to reduce factory insurance premiums, which skyrocketed after the 2011 disaster, through rehabilitation initiatives that include thorough risk assessments to rebuild trust in industrial estate monitoring.
Yuthasak emphasized infrastructure improvements at the Bang Pu Industrial Estate in Samut Prakan, where a smart drainage and flood prevention system now defends the perimeter and sends floodwater into the sea canal.
“However, such systems should ideally cover all industrial estates,” stated the man.
“However, due to their high cost, we must focus on industrial estates in low-lying areas that require effective flood prevention systems.”
