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Thai capital upgrades disaster response capacity

Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej said The BMA has significantly enhanced its urban search and rescue capabilities, integrating firefighters with emergency medical technicians to create hybrid units.

A building collapses in Bangkok, Thailand, following the impact of the March 28, 2025 earthquake in Myanmar. (Photo: Kyodo/VNA)
A building collapses in Bangkok, Thailand, following the impact of the March 28, 2025 earthquake in Myanmar. (Photo: Kyodo/VNA)

Bangkok (VNA) - The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) of Thailand has implemented a comprehensive overhaul of its safety infrastructure, transitioning the capital from a reactive stance to a 24-hour proactive disaster management model.

The announcement was made ahead of the first anniversary of the strong earthquake on March 28 last year, which struck neighbouring Myanmar and triggered strong tremors across Thailand.

Speaking during a media tour, Bangkok Deputy Governor Tavida Kamolvej said The BMA has significantly enhanced its urban search and rescue capabilities, integrating firefighters with emergency medical technicians to create hybrid units.

The administration is now placing seismic sensors in its high-rise hospitals, and the information collected will go into a central digital database that helps identify at-risk groups, like those who are bedridden or disabled, in all 50 districts to make evacuations more accurate, she added.

According to the official, the BMA Command Centre, which now monitors over 40,000 CCTV cameras integrated with AI analytics, can synchronise real-time traffic data with emergency vehicle dispatching, reducing response times significantly./.

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