ADB, Japanese fund to help with flood risk management

“The river basin bore the brunt of Thailand’s worst floods in decades in 2011 and urban and rural communities need detailed, locallydeveloped action plans to bolster their defences against future floods and improve postflood recovery efforts,” said Michael White, an ADB Urban Development Specialist. “Risk management plans, which reflect the real needs of communities, can significantly reduce deaths, hardship, and losses from flood disasters,” he said.

The Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction is extending a $2million grant, administered by the ADB, to develop communitybased flood risk management plans in five communities. These include municipalities in Ayutthaya – location of the world famous Unesco heritage site – and Nonthaburi provinces. Two communities are still to be selected.

The project will be implemented by the government’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. It will develop short and longerterm flood risk management and postflood recovery plans with full community input to reduce the risk and impact from extreme events. The grant will also fund smallscale improvements, such as flood barriers, dykes, drainage systems and safe evacuation shelters. The goal will be to develop effective communitydriven plans that can be replicated elsewhere in the country.

The project will run for about two years with an expected completion date of February 2017.