Today in thailand: Multidisciplinary perspectives on the current tsunami disaster risk reduction

Abstract

Thailand is one of the many countries in Asia that fell victim to the monstrous 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. To date, there has been tons of effort to reduce disaster risk in Thailand. Nevertheless, there is still a considerable margin for improvement. This paper aims to review previous efforts and measures that have been taken to reduce Thailand’s risk to disasters, and highlight possible areas for improvement. We use the disaster risk management as a thought-framework for our review, where we discuss Thailand’s current disaster risk reduction (DRR) measures from a multi-perspective: the tsunami numerical simulation, tsunami warning system, tsunami evacuation sign, manuals and guidelines, evacuation shelters, housing recovery, hotel business and recovery, public awareness and media, and disaster education. In understanding the current state of disaster risk efforts, we will then highlight potential areas for improvement.