Adaptation measures to alleviate degradation of urban mobility by urban flooding in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand

Abstract

Since floods caused by overflowing rivers are increasing in Southeast Asia cities, reducing urban mobility, adaptation measures are required to cope with this situation. One possible measure would be to develop transportation facilities to make them passable even during flooding conditions. Another measure is to encourage people to relocate from high-risk areas to low-risk areas. Implementing an appropriate combination of these two different adaptation measures is necessary. However, there is limited research to assess the impacts of adaptation measures on flood risk and urban activity. Therefore, this study developed an urban adaptation model that could assess mobility and land use for Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, and analyzed to what extent the decrease in urban mobility can be alleviated by combining these adaptation measures. It showed that a combination of both adaptation measures could ensure mobility under flood conditions, with benefits from travel time reduction estimated at up to 230.44 million baht (6.36 million USD) over 20 years.