GLOBAL INDEX 2012 KUBOTA CORPORATE COMMUNICATION MAGAZINE

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27mp iland!”to the Sitepart of Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok in November.The 2011 Thailand floods were heavily reported by the Japanese media, but in reality the country has experienced flooding on numerous occasions. Over the past 10 years, Thailand has suffered nearly 30 floods that each claimed over 100 victims, and such disasters now occur with even greater frequency than in the past. Delving a little further back into history, the country was also visited by severe floods that each took more than 400 lives in 1983 and 1995 (coincidently, the year of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake), which spread as far as Bangkok.Of course, the Thai Government has not sat by idly. They have since built not only dams*4 but also the “King’s Dike,” a levee that encloses Bangkok to prevent floodwaters from the north from pouring into the city, and constructed drainage canals and flood gates. However, the rainfall in 2011 was “beyond expectations.” By early October, the storage capacities at most of the country’s dams had reached their limits. Knowing that it could worsen the situation in the lower reaches, the government was forced to release water to prevent the dams from collapsing, thus triggering the severe floods. When rivers overflowed in the past, the vast paddy fields served as natural reservoirs and halted the spread of damage, but some of these fields and wetlands had been transformed into industrial estates and residential districts through government-led accelerated redevelopment projects, which resulted in a significant decline in their water-holding capacity. Also, the floods lingered over several months for various reasons, such as the country’s geographical features and the characteristics of the Chao Phraya River, which flows very slowly due to its extremely low gradient*5.Houses and utility poles hit by flooding (Sai Noi, Nonthaburi Province)Draining water from a marketplace (near Lak Hok, Pathum Thani Province)Traces of water can even be found on the Reclining Buddha. (Wat Lokayasutha, Ayutthaya Province)Water purification plant at the Nava Nakorn Industrial Estate at the time of floodingFlooded farmlands (Sai Noi, Nonthaburi Province)*2As announced by the United Nations Interna-tional Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR)*3It is believed that “La Niña” happens periodically and is not the result of abnormal weather. Due to its frequent occurrence in recent years, however, some suspect a cause-and-effect relationship with global warming.*4Also intended to supply water to farmlands dur-ing dry months.*5The difference in elevation between Ayutthaya in the north and Bangkok is only 2 m.

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