Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

permanent flood barriers for small, specific areas to protect these machines
and heavy medical equipment on the first floor from potential flooding.
• Public campaigns highlighting practical guidelines to prevent injuries, drowning,
electrocution, and other accidents should be made available widely.
• Services to address psychological complications (including post-traumatic stress
disorders, etc.) due to the flood should be provided.
• Sanitary conditions and public health concerns would be a major priority as flood
waters will have overwhelmed drinking and wastewater management systems.
Wastewater includes storm water, floodwater, domestic wastewater and waste
water from medical facilities, but does not include water that contains excreta.
Draining wastewaters properly is important to avoid a number of scenarios that can
lead to increased health risks. Poor drainage can lead to the following: increased
number of breeding sites for water-related vectors (e.g. mosquitoes); erosion of
shelters; wastewater filling pit latrines and solid waste pits; pollution of surface
or ground water; and limiting access to shelters. As waters recede, bacterial and
chemical contaminant concentrations are also likely to rise due to the concentration
of waste in reduced volumes of stagnant water. Response and recovery planning
should take these issues into account
• The government may initiate a multi-sectoral discussion of food security and
nutrition risks and issues. Food-insecure, marginal populations faced with floods
are much more vulnerable to food and nutrition emergencies. Therefore, once
the immediate food and nutritional needs of the target population have been
addressed, all emergency efforts should include plans for protecting and
reestablishing the food security and livelihoods of the affected population through
agricultural, economic and health and nutrition policies to reduce poverty and
vulnerability to famine.
Strategy for Medium-term Recovery and Reconstruction
• Review hospitals in flood-prone areas and make structural adjustments to make
health facilities more resilient to disasters.
o Electrical closets, power generators, clean water storage, hospital waste
storage should be located in areas that floodwater cannot reach. A hospital
which is flooded can remain functional as long as its electrical closets,
power generators, and clean water storage are intact; and
o Protect at least the service area by permanent flood barriers, which are high
and strong enough to prevent floods;
If it is not possible to protect the service area due to any reason, at least
the main service building and drug storage building of each hospital in
the flood-prone areas should be higher than one story, to ensure that
health services can be delivered even if the water has flooded the first
floor.
o Adequate and “flood-free” accommodation for healthcare personnel should
be prepared to ensure continuous operation of health facilities during floods;
and
148 THAI FLOOD 2011 RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING