Bangkok will flood more often, on a larger scale, and affect millions more people, if current climate change trends continue. The report Climate Risks and Adaptation in Asian Coastal Megacities examines the impact of climate change on Bangkok. The report concludes that Bangkok need to take targeted, city-specific and innovative approaches to meet these challenges. Bangkok is the capital city and center of national and regional economic growth contributing substantially to the GDP of Thailand.
While commendable measures to counteract flooding have already been taken, much more needs to be done, the report argues. Given the damage costs associated with climate change, the report also recommends that governments of coastal megacities undertake proactive measures to address climate risks as an integral part of urban planning. This includes developing strategic urban adaptation frameworks for managing climate risks, strengthening institutional capacity for adaptation and implementing measures such as land use planning and zoning and warning systems to help reduce urban vulnerability.
The proposed CTCN TA includes a technology transfer, demonstration and training program to help with early warning of flood. This will benefit the life, reduce traffic disturbances and decrease the people’s risks for being exposed to contaminated floodwater (sewage and rain). More specifically, the result of the technical assistance will be an urban flood early warning system, applied for a limited, but representative catchment within the Bangkok Metro area. The system integrates the existing data monitoring network with data integration, modelling and web components provided as part of the technical assistance. The result is an automated, operational system providing information on flood risk zones (extent and duration) by means of web/mobile platforms. Further, the technical assistance will bring additional skills and competences to the staff of BMA and it will outline possible ways to expand the system to a city-wide warning system as well as share and disseminate the findings to other relevant cities and organizations in the region.