One of the joint projects of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC21), "Network for Crisis Management" held a meeting "Asian Crisis Management Conference" with each member city taking turns in hosting the conferences.
Here is a report from the conference hosted by Bangkok in June.

The Asian Crisis Management Conference was held on June 13 and 14, 2012, in Bangkok, where approximately 90 crisis management specialists from Bangkok, as well as the other member cities –Deli, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Soul, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo – gathered to make lively discussions.

On June 12, the day before the conference, ANMC21 secretariat arrived at Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to make a final arrangement for the meeting. Representatives from the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, and International Affairs Division who were in charge of the meeting this year, met for the first time in approximately nine months since the meeting in Seoul in 2011. To prepare for the meeting the following day, they carefully confirmed the framework of the meeting and made detailed final adjustments together. As the time passed, tension rose gradually.

From Tokyo, nine participants including Toshiyuki Shikata, Counselor to the Governor of Tokyo, and members of the Disaster Prevention Division, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Tokyo Fire Department and ANMC21 secretariats attended the meeting. On the first day, the Tokyo team arrived at the venue a little early to have a preliminary discussion and waited for the others. Then, they welcomed the participants from other cities including some "regular attendants." Some exchanged business cards to introduce themselves while others were celebrated their once-a-year reunion.

Bangkok made a report on the great flood that hit the country in 2011 and talked about how it happened, how the country responded to it and what future strategy it has.

Not only Bangkok but also Kuala Lumpur and Taipei made reports on the flood crisis management. Reflecting the fact that this is a common issue among many cities in Asia, many asked questions during the question and answer session. Singapore and Seoul made reports on fires in a chemical complex and cultural asset, respectively. Delhi talked about characteristics of the crisis in Deli and its newly-established crisis management organization. It was the first time in nine years for Delhi to join the conference since it participated in the 1st Asian Crisis Management Conference.

Tokyo made a presentation on what it learnt from the East Japan Great Earthquake and what damage it suffered at that time. In addition, the Disaster Prevention Division, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and Tokyo Fire Department each introduced new countermeasures developed based on surveys conducted in the quake areas.

These presentations drew great attention from the participants, who seriously discussed the matter even after the presentations.

Next day's agenda was a site visit to the Phrakhanong pumping station. The Phrakhanong pumping station is located in the lowest part of Bangkok as the largest among 150 pumping stations in the city. The visit under the hot sun was also attended by the Thai media and the visitors listened to the explanations of the facility very carefully.

The 10th Asian Crisis Management Conference concluded after the two-day meaningful programs. It was confirmed that through this once-a-year important opportunity to have crisis management specialists from Asian cities get together, improvement of crisis management capacity has now become our common goal, and mutual cooperation among the cities has been solidly developed. Activities of the Network for Crisis Management are currently progressing.