Thailand has a tropical climate with monsoon rains that come every summer. In 2011, the rains were unusually heavy, with a sequence of typhoons sweeping across southeast Asia. Regions of Thailand are now experiencing the worst floods in over fifty years, as water immerses villages, farms, and factories. The volume of water is so vast that more than half the country has already been flooded.
This flood not only affects Thailand, but the entire world. Thailand is the world’s largest manufacturer of rice, rubber, and computer hard drives, accounting for more than 25% of world production. Over 12.8 million people have been affected.
Unfortunately the official warnings came too late and there was much confusion. The night of October 18,Rumors were spread about “broken dikes” Residents were told to evacuate within 24 hours to safe areas because the water had come through the broken dikes and would reach our area that night.
Shops ran out of supplies and, with shelves emptied, were forced to close down. People had to travel to dry places to buy food and water to carry home. Some merchants took this opportunity to double the prices of items such as sandbags, boots, drinking water, fresh food, etc.
If this flood had occurred in Singapore, I feel sure a quite different response would have been prepared and executed.
Do you have any thoughts on how a government should communicate in this situation and how they might go about restoring trust (if they can)?