The 2011 floods were a disastrous event in Thailand's recent history; however, an aspect that is rarely brought up when thinking about this is how did people use their lavatories. ADPC is involved in an innovative project that aims to tackle this often ignored but crucial issue.

Supported by Japan Tobacco Industries and USAID, specifically the U.S. Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) Flood project, the ADPC has been engaged in a project to initiate non-structural flood preparedness and mitigation measures for the villagers in flood vulnerable areas through Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) activities. This prepares vulnerable communities for floods by providing them with suitable facilities, systems and knowledge.

Paper toilets, essential post-disaster

One area vulnerable to floods is the Tha Rua District, located in the northeast of Ayutthaya Province, central Thailand. Tha Luang sub-district (or 'Tambon Tha Luang’) is a part of the Tha Rua district, which is an area ADPC has been working with to mitigate future flood damage. The Siam Cement Group (SCG) Foundation has provided materials and assistance to this vital work in the form of a donation of 150 “paper toilets” to the Tha-Luang Sub-District Administrative Organization to distribute to the most risk prone homes in the area.As bathrooms are often on the ground floor of properties, they are subject to flooding. If one’s normal toilet is under water, sanitation becomes incredibly problematic. As a result, human waste could end up in floodwater, which comes into contact with the population as they navigate their way around the inundated area. This can lead to a huge increase in the cases of waterborne diseases such as, cholera, diarrhea and conjunctivitis.

New ideas help flood victims

To combat this, a “paper toilet” has been created by SCG as a solution to problems encountered in 2011. These cardboard structures are foldable boxes with a hole in the top, which are strong enough to support the weight of a person. They can be fitted with bin bags, which, once full, can be disposed of appropriately. They are incredibly portable, and can be moved to higher floors of houses when floods come and people do not want to evacuate, as was the case for many people in the 2011 floods.

On 9 Feb 2013, after two days of CBDRM training, supported by JTI, in one village in the sub-district, 150 paper toilets were presented to the Tambon Authority Organization (TAO) on behalf of SCG.

This is the second village to receive CBDRM projects in Tambon Tha Luang under the JTI project.

For more information on ADPC’s Flood Preparedness Program in Thailand please contact Dr. Chusit Apirumanekul, Project Manager and Hydrologist at Chusit@adpc.net