Phuket Tsunami Information

THAILAND’S NATIONAL DISASTER WARNING CENTRE & TSUNAMI EARLY WARNING SYSTEM NOW IN OPERATION

Upon receipt of information regarding a potential natural disaster, public warnings for high risk areas will be issued by Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Centre and broadcasted on Thailand’s new Early Warning System within 30 minutes

With the official inauguration of Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Centre on May 31, 2005, Thailand became the first country hit by the December 26 tsunami to launch a natural disaster early warning system.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra presided at the inauguration and declared the centre, located on Ratanathibet Road in Bangkok, open and ready for public service.

The centre is staffed 24 hours by a multi-disciplinary team of experts drawn from various fields including natural sciences and crisis management. The team is responsible for monitoring incoming data, evaluating the intensity and severity of the natural occurrence, and risk assessment.

With Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Centre and Tsunami Early Warning System now in place, warning of an impending tsunami or other natural disaster can be issued in high risk areas in half an hour.

HOW THAILAND’S EARLY WARNING SYSTEM WORKS

Early Warning System Information Network & Data Exchange
The newly-established National Disaster Warning Centre functions as a centralised information centre receiving, monitoring, processing and relaying critical information on impending natural disasters round the clock. Data on the intensity of seismic or wave activity is received and transmitted via the Early Warning System established by the Thailand National Disaster Warning Centre.

Source of Picture: Courtesy of Tourism Authority of Thailand.

To facilitate timely data exchanges and updates, the National Disaster Warning Centre is linked to international information networks in Europe, Asia and the Pacific. These include disaster prevention and mitigation agencies such as the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, the US Geological Survey and the Japan Meteorological Agency.

Thailand’s Early Warning System information network is also linked to the information networks of the Meteorological Department, the Department of Mineral Resources and the Naval Hydrographic Department which provide data on seismic activity. It also taps into the information networks of other state agencies including the Department of Disaster Prevention and Relief, the Department of Fisheries, the Royal Irrigation Department, the Department of Maritime Transport and Commerce, and the Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT).

The centre is staffed round-the-clock by a team of experts tasked with monitoring and analysing computer-generated reports. In the event that there is a high probability of a tsunami incident occurring, a warning for high risk areas around Thailand will be issued within 30 minutes. Data will be relayed immediately via satellite.

PROCESS

To achieve the widest coverage within the shortest possible time, warnings for high risk areas will also be transmitted simultaneously via the nationwide radio network, Channel 5 army television network, the state-operated television pool, as well as by SMS to some 20 million cellular phone users.
To alert tourists and residents of impending danger such as the advance of destructive waves and floodwaters, sirens will be sounded. Public warnings in the form of audio-recordings in various international languages will be broadcasted from 30-metre-high warning towers installed along the beachfront. These alerts will be further supported by visual indicators such as flashing red emergency warning lights.

STATE-PRIVATE SECTOR COORDINATION

At the recent TTM Plus & ITS Thailand 2005 Travel Trade Forum and press conference held in Bangkok on June 15, Mr Wichit Na Ranong, President of the Tourism Council of Thailand and founding president of the Phuket Tourist Association, reported that the Tourism Council of Thailand is working in close collaboration with the Committee for the Development of Thailand’s Tsunami Early Warning System and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. The latter is responsible for disaster response drills including tsunami evacuation drills, evacuation efforts, public awareness, education and training efforts. Their joint goal is to conduct training for private sector business operators, especially hotels, resorts and other service establishments situated in coastal areas.

To facilitate rapid evacuation and escape from danger zones, evacuation guidelines and maps with designated evacuation routes are being produced. Similar in concept to fire escape routes posted in individual guest rooms, these guides are designed to raise awareness and help visitors familiarise themselves with the surrounding area. Evacuation route maps featuring clearly marked escape routes leading away from danger zones are being placed in guest rooms from June 2005 onwards. Evacuation routes for individual beach destinations will vary according to the location of particular properties. Evacuation routes marked on maps placed in individual rooms will be specific to the location of the beach resort, hotel or resort property concerned.

Designated evacuation routes to facilitate rapid evacuation
To facilitate evacuation and escape from danger zones to higher ground or the city centre, and vice-versa, the identification and selection of appropriate evacuation sites with clearly marked evacuation routes to facilitate rapid and convenient evacuation and escape within the shortest possible time has also been completed.

The National Disaster Warning Centre offers the best possible assurance that with Thailand’s integrated Early Warning System and effective mitigating measures in place there is sufficient time for the total evacuation of high-risk areas for the safety of all visitors and residents.

Mr Plodprasop Suraswadi is Director of the National Disaster Warning Centre. Mr Smith Dharmasaroja, former Chief of Thailand’s Meteorological Department and currently Vice Minister of the Office of the Prime Minister, is Chairman of the Committee for the Development of Thailand’s Tsunami Early Warning System.

The National Disaster Warning Centre Call Centre
To promote and facilitate communication exchange between the centre and the public, the National Disaster Warning Centre also operates a Call Centre to service inquiries from the public. Members of the public are also being encouraged to call in to report incidents and provide helpful information that might help to avert disasters and loss of life caused by the forces of nature.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
FOR INQUIRIES OR REPORTS
National Disaster Warning Centre Call Centre:
Hotline: #1860
Tel: +66 (0) 2859 2497, (0) 2859 2591

Source: Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT)