SAFETY / DISASTER PREVENTION

Patong focus of landslide preparedness study

ACHADTAYA CHUENNIRAN

Phuket _ Geologists have chosen the tourist resort of Patong beach as a study site to draft a prototype landslide preparedness plan. The town is considered ideal for the study because it is located on a hillside, receives high rainfall and has significant tourist and resident populations who could be threatened by landslides, said Tosaporn Nutanong, director of the Mineral Resources Department's environmental geology and geohazard division.

His division will team with experts from Kasetsart University to assess risks, including those posed by hillside buildings.

Information obtained in the study will be used in land-use planning and the drafting of a landslide risk mitigation scheme for future roads and buildings.

There are 14 areas on Phuket considered prone to landslides, according to the department which has been mapping landslide-prone sites across the country.

Many areas at risk of mudslides are located in northern provinces. In 2001, villages in Phetchabun's Nam Kor and Nam Chun tambons were washed away by flash floods and mudslides, claiming more than 100 lives.

Landslide risk management in these areas is essential to prevent tragedies from happening again, Mr Tosaporn said.

''A lot of locals and tourists stay here. Patong is the right place to draft a landslide risk management scheme,'' said Arun Kerdsom, head of Phuket's Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office.

Bangkok Post
Wednesday January 31, 2007