An expected event, but unprecedented damage: Structure and gaps of large-scale response coordination of the 2011 Thailand floods

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to focus on the large-scale flood response coordination across sectors and jurisdictions, investigating the characteristics and gaps of the 2011 Thailand flood response operations.

Design/methodology/approach

The large-scale flood response coordination was measured as an inter-organizational network. An extensive content analysis of news reports was conducted to identify the participating organizations and relationships among them that emerged during the initial flood response operations. Social network analysis was used to examine the patterns and gaps of coordination among the organizations.

Findings

The research identified three major gaps that might weaken the response coordination. First, the coordination structure was highly fragmented with many isolated actors. Second, the benefit of inter-sector relationships was not well leveraged in the system due to weak reciprocal relationships across sectors. Third, provincial level organizations did not serve as a strong liaison between local actors (cities) and national actors.

Practical implications

Based on the findings, the research offers suggestions to improve the performance of response coordination in recurring flood disasters.

Originality/value

This study is distinctive in its examination of structural characteristics of large-scale, inter-sector and multi-jurisdictional flood response coordination in Thailand. Previous studies have explored how citizens were organized and responded to flood disasters at the local level, and measured indicators or causes of response resilience at the provincial level system. Yet, studies examining the patterns of coordination structure among response organizations across all affected-jurisdictional authorities and sectors have been lacking.

Citation

Yeo, J. and K. Comfort, L. (2017), "An expected event, but unprecedented damage: Structure and gaps of large-scale response coordination of the 2011 Thailand floods", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 458-470. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-02-2017-0048