Bangkok remains flood-prone area

BANGKOK, June 4 (TNA) - The World Bank says Bangkok remains a flood-prone area, suggesting that the Thai government ensure the efficiency of its new 350-billion-baht water management plans and city planning. The US-based World Bank indicated in its report on strategic policies on risk management of disasters in Asia and the Pacific, released on Monday, that the Thai government’s 350-billion-baht investment plans on comprehensive water management have resulted in a rebound of the national economy faster than expected, following a flooding crisis in Thailand in late 2011. The World Bank report, however, urged that the Thai government prioritize relevant operational tasks and implement them in an integrated manner among all agencies concerned, as Bangkok, where residential communities and industries have kept expanding, remains at risk of flooding. Due to Bangkok’s rapid expansion, the World Bank reported pointed out, the Thai capital also needs an efficient city planning to reduce risks of disaster-borne losses, including short, middle and long term plans. Apart from short-term plans on effective disaster warning systems, the World Bank recommended that Bangkok's middle and long-term plans to cope with disaster risks need to have a balance between investment in infrastructure projects and the environment conservation. The World Bank acknowledged, like Bangkok, other large cities in the Asian-Pacific region are also highly at risk of disasters due to inefficient city planning, causing remarkable losses in their economic opportunities. (TNA)