Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

turned into “fix-it centers” to provide free equipment repair services to local communities.
Farmers and community members are encouraged to use the services offered by these
centers. It is noteworthy to mention that the MOE, under its various commissions, provided
extensive support to flood victims beyond the provision of shelters, food and water.
Other items distributed include floating toilets, rafts, boats, and water purification systems.
Overall need for both recovery and reconstruction within the education sector is estimated
at THB 13.34 billion. Assuming that the rehabilitation of the education facilities follows
building safety standards, the estimates for rehabilitation costs will be higher than damage
estimates. Under the assumption that the reconstruction of education facilities will take
about two years, total reconstruction costs are THB 10.55 billion.
Recommendations for Resilient Recovery and Reconstruction
It may take up to two years until the education system in the 26 flood-affected provinces is
back to normal and all education facilities have been reconstructed and rehabilitated. The
MOE was successful in setting up temporary shelters, adjusting academic calendars and
ensuring that students returned to class as quickly as possible, with students at all levels
back at the latest by January 9, 2012. Despite the large number of affected students,
attendance rates are expected to remain the same for girls and boys.
Strategy for Short-term Recovery (up to 6 months)
• Immediate and streamlined budget processing steps to restore affected education
institutions.
• Higher education institutions should consider flexible measures to admit high
school graduates from flood-impacted areas whose academic calendar would
be different in the coming year. In addition, HEIs not affected by the flood should
provide financial assistance or fee waivers to disadvantaged students from
affected areas.
• Review building usage to ensure that the first floor is used as meeting rooms or
classrooms rather than laboratories. For single-story buildings, doors/widows and
furniture should be replaced with water resistant materials.
• Flexibility should be built into the academic calendar so schools can use their
own discretion regarding the starting date of the coming academic year. Those
that are ready should be allowed to open and those less ready should be allowed
sufficient time to recover. This is already being done to some extent.
• Appropriate technical supervision is needed to ensure that building codes and
other safety measures are followed, both in future school construction, and in the
rehabilitation of damaged school buildings.
• Establishing the principle of “build-back-better” (BBB) will improve the resiliency of
reconstructed infrastructure.
Strategy for Medium-term Recovery and Reconstruction
• Internal Quality Assurance conducted by all educational institutions should include
a natural disaster awareness program as one of its key measurement indicators.
• Education institutions can act as a community educator for community DRM
awareness and facilitate programs to better train the public to cope with disasters
THAI FLOOD 2011 RAPID ASSESSMENT FOR RESILIENT RECOVERY AND RECONSTRUCTION PLANNING
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