Disasters, Conflicts and Migration 

For a more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters Country Profile. 

Seasonal Effects on Logistics Capacities 

Laos is a land-locked country, and therefore relies on its neighbours Vietnam and Thailand for seaport services. Road transport is the predominant mode of freight transportation in the country, accounting for over 96% of the total freight transported. 13,997 km out of a total road network length of 59,647 km are paved with asphalt, concrete, or bitumen. 76% of the total road length is comprised of gravelled and earthen roads, of which nearly half are inaccessible during the rainy season. 

Rice is the major crop grown in the country and accounts for over 80 percent of the total cultivated 

areas. The major cultivation season is the wet (rainfed) paddy, which stretches from May to December, and normally accounts for almost 90 percent of the country’s annual paddy production. In the peak seasonal of storage and labour required in Laos is there might be some shortage of the labour to work in the loading and unloading areas. 

Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response 

Government

National coordination and key partners 

The Centre Disaster Management Committee (CDMC) is shared by Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and membered by representatives from several ministries. The CDMC has its secretariat at the Department for Social Welfare in the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare. The Committee’s duties include the following: 

i) Endorse strategic plans and action plans, and draft various legislation on disaster management; 

ii) Lead the coordination for protection and response to disasters across the country; 

iii) Encourage ministries and local authorities to implement plans on disaster management; 

iv) Urgently inform the Government on the status, severity and losses of lives and assets of the people when a disaster occurs and propose an immediate response plan for funding approval to respond to immediate and urgent needs; and 

v) Lead the implementation and cooperation with foreign, international and Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) that are able to build capacity in disaster management. 

Provincial, district, and village structures 

Laos provincial and district Government offices have established Provincial and District Disaster Management Committees (P/DDMC). P/DDMCs implement Disaster Risk Management at sub-national and district levels, as they channel information and resources and establish links between national objectives, provincial priorities and local needs. As the coordinating body for DRM in provinces and districts, the P/DDMCs are responsible for preparing a Provincial or District Disaster Management Plan addressing both DRR and emergency response. 

These plans include the identification of a hazards/risk profile for the province/district; the formulation of required resources for preventive and mitigatory action; planning of emergency, recovery and restoration operations; and the production of damage and loss assessments. The PDMC is further expected to monitor hazards, risks, disaster threats and the conditions of vulnerable populations within their region, and conduct vulnerability analyses on emerging disaster-prone areas. The committees should identify and communicate training needs, conduct trainings and raise public awareness. The committees are also responsible for mobilizing and coordinating all interventions by other agencies in their province to ensure that disaster management fully reflects national priorities and guidelines. At the village level, DRM is employed through Village Disaster Protection Units (VDPU), which have already been established in a small number of communities. The village committee (led by a traditional village leader) is responsible for preparing DRM plans and procedures based on location-specific risk and vulnerability analysis and comprehensive hazard mapping for their respective locations. In case of an emergency, village committees have the operational responsibility to ensure that support is provided to the most affected households. 

For information on Laos Government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List. 

HUMANITARIAN COMMUNITY 

Various United Nations agencies’ country representations play a crucial role in technically and financially supporting the Lao Government in DRM programmes, in addition to responding to humanitarian crises. They participate in several fora, sharing information and experiences and addressing issues such as natural disasters, climate change, food security and environmental protection. 

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) is responsible for ensuring the coordination of activities between various government ministries and the humanitarian agencies working in Lao PDR to prepare for, respond to and mitigate emergencies and disasters. The IASC is employed by several country teams, including UN agencies, international NGOs and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. These teams focus on different components in emergency response actions (Humanitarian Country Team, Inter-Cluster Coordination Group, Emergency Task Force, the Information Management Network and Provincial Focal Points) and cover various thematic areas (Health, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene, Food Security, Nutrition, Education, Shelter, Protection, Early Recovery, Logistics, Information, Communications and Technology).  

For information on Laos Humanitarian Agency contact details, please see the following link: 4.2 Humanitarian Agency Contact List.