Floods and Migration in Thailand

Guest Blog by Kanyasorn Tansubhapol

The recent floods in Thailand have had not only profound impacts on people’s livelihoods, but also caused lots of damage to their houses and properties, affecting over 2.5 million people nationwide. Hundreds of thousands of residents became internally displaced almost overnight. The prolonged floods since late July have ravaged 30 provinces in the North, Northeast and Central regions, including Bangkok – the capital city of Thailand. In Bangkok, 36 districts out of a total 50 were hit by the floods. The level of floodwaters ranged up to three metres deep in heavily flooded areas.

The news has reported that these are the worst floods in 50 years in Thailand with a mass -movement of over 100,000 people – the biggest displacement in the country since World War II. Initially, many flood victims in rural provinces moved into Bangkok to live with their relatives and friends. Then, when the floods reached Bangkok many inbound and outbound roads and highways were closed or became difficult to access, and hundreds of thousands of Bangkok residents had to evacuate to other flood-free areas. Some people chose to stay at evacuation centres whereas others moved away to the provinces. Others who were financially able rented a condominium or a hotel room within the city. At the height of the floods, all outbound flights to regional cities were fully booked, and highways to these regions were jammed for six to ten hours.

The floods put great pressure on internal migration. Not to mention a shortage of housing, food supplies, and drinking water as factories became flooded and supply chains disrupted. About 30 local Embassy staff living in severely flood-hit districts had to evacuate their houses and a few of them are still unable to return home, over a month after they left.

The massive floods are very much in line with the findings in the UK’s Foresight Report on “Migration and Global Environmental Change.” The report states that ‘the impact of environmental change on migration will increase in the future’. It examines not only global migration trends, but also internal migration trends. In particular, “environmental change may threaten people’s livelihood and traditional response is to migrate.”

The report also points out that individuals who experience the impacts of environmental change may need extra financial resources to move. But these people may be unable to move away from locations in which they are extremely vulnerable to environmental change. This can be seen as a ‘trapped population’ and is a real concern for well-planned migration policy.

The Bangkok floods are a good case study. The government reports around 800,000 people became trapped in the city with little access to daily necessities and food supplies. The floods have also affected communities of Burmese migrant workers outside Bangkok. Factories where many of them work became submerged, leaving many workers unemployed and homeless. Around 100,000 of them chose to return back home, and wait until the situation is back to normal before returning to Thailand.

Recently the floodwaters have generally receded. Yet, there remain 9 provinces in the Central regions, and another 11 districts in Bangkok where the floodwaters have not subsided.

It is highly evident that Thai people have become more aware of environmental and climate change impacts on their livelihoods. The massive floods are a real wake-up call, as nobody wants a repeat. In particular, the government agencies engaged in flood management are now working together to discuss what actions and policies need to be implemented.

Kanyasorn Tansubhapol is Climate Change Officer at the British Embassy in Bangkok