By Preechaya Kittipaisalsilpa, TFGI Insights Contributor
On 28 March 2025, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, sending tremors through central Thailand. In Bangkok, a high-rise under construction collapsed, while emergency alerts arrived too late to reassure the public. Though the epicentre lay outside of Thailand, the incident exposed deep vulnerabilities in the country’s disaster readiness—at a time when disaster risks across Southeast Asia are only intensifying.
As the region rapidly urbanises and digitises, Thailand’s experience offers urgent lessons. It highlights how countries can move from fragmented emergency response to inclusive, scalable, tech-enabled disaster governance—starting from the ground up.
Why This Matters Now
Southeast Asia is one of the world’s most disaster-exposed regions, recording over 2,400 disaster events between 2000 and 2022. These accounted for 7.68% of global disaster deaths and over USD 11 billion in losses. Two of the world’s four transboundary disaster risk hotspots lie in this region, where climate extremes and fragile ecosystems intersect with growing socio-economic vulnerabilities.
The 2024 Asia-Pacific Disaster Report estimates that the region has suffered average annual losses of USD 86.5 billion due to disasters—60% of which stem from agricultural drought alone. These figures point to the rising human and economic costs of inaction.
The 2025 earthquake, though centred in Myanmar, underscored Bangkok’s exposure. The city’s soft marine clay amplified seismic waves, damaging high-rise infrastructure and raising questions about urban safety and building code enforcement. Public response further revealed systemic gaps: emergency alerts were delayed or failed, trust in official information was low, and citizens turned to informal digital channels for real-time updates.
What sets this moment apart is that Thailand already has many digital foundations in place. The next step is to embed these tools into a stronger, more inclusive governance framework—transforming crisis response into long-term resilience.
Where the Gaps Remain
- Ageing Infrastructure and Outdated Standards
More than 78% of Bangkok’s buildings were constructed before seismic standards were introduced in 2007. Although updated regulations were issued in 2021, retrofitting older buildings remains voluntary and rare. Fewer than 10% have undergone safety assessments, leaving large parts of the city vulnerable. - Fragmented Crisis Communication
Thailand has over 99.5 million mobile subscriptions and 120 million active SIM cards—far exceeding its population of 71 million. Despite this high connectivity, emergency alert platforms such as Thai Disaster Alert, HelpT, and Cell Broadcast Service (CBS) tests were ineffective to deliver timely notifications to many users. Instead, citizens turned to informal sources such as LINE groups, social media threads, and word of mouth for real-time information. This shift in reliance exposed a critical gap in crisis communication infrastructure, where digital reach has outpaced institutional reliability. - Weak Data Integration for Risk Planning
Thailand’s disaster response remains largely reactive rather than predictive. Although open data and digital mapping tools are expanding, integration across agencies is still weak. To improve public warning systems, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society is developing a national multi-platform alert system, including SMS-based alerts, Thai Disaster Alert, and the CBS. However, during the earthquake, these two platforms failed to deliver timely warnings, and CBS—considered as the most critical—was still under testing. Though slated for nationwide deployment by mid-2025, its absence during the crisis highlighted a persistent gap between digital planning and real-world readiness.
Building Resilience Through Innovation
Thailand is not starting from zero. The country is already laying the foundations for a more responsive and resilient disaster management system. Investments in digital infrastructure, such as the upcoming CBS, are being complemented by broader efforts to modernise how data is collected, shared, and applied across agencies.
At the policy level, Thailand’s National AI Action Plan (2022–2030) reflects a long-term commitment to national resilience. The plan calls for the establishment of a dedicated agency for AI and national security, tasked with aggregating big data and building predictive models to support real-time crisis decision-making. It also envisions a national disaster surveillance platform to integrate hazard monitoring, early warning systems, and emergency coordination under a unified public data infrastructure.
Complementing this, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA) has expanded access to open geospatial data via the National Geographic Information System (NGIS). These datasets support the development of digital twins—virtual simulations of cities that can model disaster impacts and guide risk-informed urban planning.
On the ground, civic technology is enabling a more responsive local governance. Platforms like Traffy Fondue empower municipalities to resolve citizen-reported issues in real time, while ThaiWater provides timely data on water resources for effective environmental and disaster risk management.
Together, these innovations mark a strategic shift in Thailand’s disaster governance—from reactive responses to proactive, digitally integrated, and citizen-responsive systems.
Beyond Infrastructure: Building a Culture of Preparedness
Technology is only one part of the equation. Building resilience also means building trust—and that begins with people. A digitally connected disaster governance system must be paired with a strong foundation in disaster literacy. Citizens need more than alerts; they need the capacity to understand, assess, and act on them confidently.
This calls for embedding disaster preparedness into national education systems and community-level training. Investing in platforms without investing in people will fall short. Resilience is not built during a crisis—it is cultivated long before it strikes.
The Way Forward: From Systems to Trust
Thailand may not face the region’s highest earthquake risks—but the March 2025 quake underscored that preparedness cannot be delayed. It exposed the limits of fragmented systems and reactive responses. But it also revealed an opportunity.
With continued investment, coordination, and scale, Thailand can close the gap between digital promise and public readiness. If it succeeds, it can set a new regional benchmark for inclusive, tech-enabled, and trust-based disaster preparedness—contributing to a safer, more resilient Southeast Asia.
About the Writer
Preechaya Kittipaisalsilpa is a Programme Officer at the ASEAN-Japan Centre. Her work focuses on sustainability practices and regional partnerships across Southeast Asia and Japan. She holds a PhD in International Relations from the International University of Japan, an MA from the University of York, and a BSocSc in Asia Pacific Studies from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University.
About the Organisation
The ASEAN-Japan Centre (ASEAN Promotion Centre on Trade, Investment and Tourism) is an intergovernmental organisation based in Tokyo, established in 1981 by Japan and the ASEAN Member States.
The views and recommendations expressed in this article, published in June 2025, are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tech for Good Institute.
