Last week, I was stunned by a phone call. "When will Ms Messy resign?" Yes, you know whom the caller referred to. Deep down, you can also guess that the caller is not totally a fan of the Pheu Thai Party or its leader, Yingluck Shinawatra, since the caller's house is not flooded and the caller is working at an office in a dry zone.
It puzzled me why many people in Bangkok put the blame solely on Yingluck. The heavy rain started in April and when she took office in mid-August, the water was already halfway to the capital.
Few look at the fact that Thailand has for decades neglected any improvement in its water management system.
Of the tens of billions of baht in the annual budget for the Irrigation Department, most goes to maintaining the existing irrigation system. Besides Pasak Cholasit Dam, no big reservoir has been built.
In the capital, hyacinths are growing everywhere in canals, which have rarely been dredged to cope with massive water like this.
We now have big tunnels to divert water to the Chao Phraya River, but few know that they were planned years ago but just appeared recently, due to financial constraints.
Indeed, this is the effect of activities all over the globe. We need to admit that this is a "natural disaster", which constitutes a "natural hazard".
As evidence of global warming shows, we need to admit that many natural disasters are the result of human activities. La Nina and El Nino are natural phenomena, but human activities are increasing their frequency.
Knowing that, will we do anything to turn things around? As over 2 million people are affected by the floods, our focus is on relief measures. But what's next?
We know that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increase global temperatures and this increases the frequency of La Nina and El Nino. This has been confirmed by research. If the problem is to be addressed at its root, then we must cut GHG emissions.
It’s encouraging to know that the Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency Department sees this disaster as an opportunity.
After the floods, it will seriously promote the use of energy-saving light bulbs among small and medium-sized enterprises, with financial and non-financial supporting measures.
I was also encouraged by the fact that the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration is aware of global warming and the necessity to take initial action to be part of the global effort in mitigating the problem.
In its Action Plan on Global Warming Mitigation 2007-12, it aims to reduce GHG emissions by at least 15 per cent. One of the initiatives is to improve the efficiency of solid waste treatment.
A study found that in 2009, Bangkok generated over 8,000 tonnes of daily waste. This would only increase with the consumption of more canned food and bottled water.
The Loy Krathong festival only worsened the situation with non-disposable floats. Revellers also tended to generate more garbage by purchasing food and drinks that usually come in plastic containers.
If I were the Bangkok governor and knew that garbage trucks would be deployed to remove the hyacinths during the floods, I would have launched a campaign to cut rubbish as much as possible.
This could be adopted permanently, if Bangkok wants to be a leader among global metropolises. Alas, I'm not the governor.
I totally agree with the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, which says disaster risk reduction is everyone’s business, from governments and businesses to even individuals like us.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said, "the more governments, UN agencies, organisations, businesses and civil society understand risk and vulnerability, the better equipped they will be to mitigate disasters when they strike and save more lives."
The current disaster saddens people. Most of the media's efforts are channelled to portraying the suffering and finding out who should be blamed.
However, we should focus on looking for the structural problems and fixing them. Then, let's do what we can to ease the problems if we agree that disaster reduction is everyone's business.
Yes, it is easier to blame someone else.
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