Mekong River Commission

Foreword

It is my pleasure to introduce the second Annual Mekong Flood Report, a major output from the Mekong River Commission’s Flood Management and Mitigation Programme (FMMP) Regional Flood Management and Mitigation Centre.

The 2006 Annual Flood Report aims to fulfil two primary roles: a summary of the flood year 2006 and a collation of important data on the flood regime. These data will, in time, accumulate to provide a primary regional resource for flood research and the collation of historical reference material. The report is also considered a valuable contribution to the goals of the MRC Strategic Plan 2006-2010, in particular where it addresses issues such as basinwide impact assessment and enhancement of the MRC knowledge base.

In order to understand floods and their effects it is important to view them in an historical context, which is why this year we have designed the report to introduce more information on floods in the Mekong basin, by putting them into a global context and taking a look at the historical geography of floods on the Mekong mainstream. This report also examines the nature and analysis of floods on large rivers as well as temporal aspects of the Mekong flood regime.

Individual country reports present specific events of the 2006 Flood Season with reports of economic and social impact. The countries presented a broader picture during the 5th Annual Mekong Flood Forum, held in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam in May 2007.

The 2006 report has been produced in a more condensed form with an emphasis on important data depicted in graphical form to make the information accessible and easily assimilated. The report has been divided into an area of main text with specific statistical data presented in detail in appendices for reference purposes. The appendices also provide the results of a statistical analysis of the discharge data at the major hydrometric stations on the mainstream and the water-level data in the Tonle Sap system, the floodplain regions and the Delta.

The 2006 flood season is also discussed in terms of its hydrological and meteorological aspects with particular emphasis on water levels in the Tonle Sap floodplain of Cambodia and the Viet Nam Delta region. It also looks at the hydrology of major tributaries.

This is the first ‘theme’ based Annual Mekong Flood Report. In this report the emphasis is on data analysis and the temporal and spatial nature of floods and flooding in the Mekong region. We feel this theme concept will, over coming years, enable MRC to build up a complete picture of all aspects of the Mekong flood regime and become a valuable source of data for the FMMP and a solid source of information for all those involved in flood management and mitigation in the basin. This report will be widely disseminated among stakeholders in the basin and welcome any comments from readers.

Dr Olivier Cogels
Chief Executive Officer
Mekong River commission Secretariat