Schools on Andaman coast on alert with regular drills

[webfact]

Schools on Andaman coast on alert with regular drills

By KORNRAWEE PANYASUPPAKUN 
THE NATION 
PHANG NGA

 

Students walk to a safe area during a tsunami emergency drill organised by their school, along with the UN Development Programme and their other partners. // UNDP PHOTO

 

INDONESIA was again hit by a tsunami on Saturday, bringing back memories of Thailand’s trauma 14 years ago, and raising questions about how prepared our schools are for a future disaster.

 

 

Originating in Indonesia and spreading through the Indian Ocean, the giant 2004 wave destroyed the fishing village of Ban Nam Khem, wrecked the school and killed as many as 4,000 Phang Nga residents.

 

In Thailand alone, the death toll rose to above 5,000. Across the region it took more than 200,000 lives. 

 

“When the tsunami hit Phang Nga province, the eldest students in our school were only a year old at the time,” teacher Aporn Malison, senior teacher at Ban Nam Khem School, told The Nation.

 

 

Despite being very close to the Andaman coast, her school lacked a systemic evacuation plan – until recently. 

 

“Usually when a tsunami alarm is raised, the students will simply run to the third floor, which is [considered] a safe evacuation area,” Aporn said, outlining the yearly tsunami drills conducted by local officials and villagers.

 

However, recently Ban Nam Khem and four other schools in Phang Nga – Ban Bang Niang, Phraratchatharn Thablamu, Koh Mak Noi and Ban Bang Muang – began working with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Thai Red Cross Society and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) to plan a systematic emergency response. 

 

The agencies organised workshops for teachers so they could develop evacuation maps and plans, while students were taught basic first aid and CPR skills. The agencies also helped create tsunami educational materials. Each school then held their own emergency tsunami drill to test it, with the aim of ensuring their students were ready if another wave hits the Andaman coast. The 18-month programme has prepared 1,731 students and teachers in total.

 

“The drill is detailed and systematic,” Apron said. 

 

 

As soon as the alarm rings, each teacher is on guard until all 270 students are safely assembled on the highest floor of the school.

 

There is an evacuation team, a first-aid team and search-and-rescue teams among others, with the school director leading the operation, she said.

 

Teachers are prepared with walkie-talkies to use for communication should the power and telephone lines be destroyed during the natural disaster. 

 

In the recent drill, UNDP officials intentionally hid a few of the students, so teachers could count ever head and send out a search-and-rescue team to ensure nobody is left behind, Aticha Chaivichian, UNDP’s project coordinator for the programme, said.

 

“We have also taken into account students with physical disabilities and their specific needs,” she added. 

 

In Phraratchatharn Thublamu School, for instance, the evacuation routes were upgraded to become more wheelchair-friendly. Ban Bang Niang School, meanwhile, has set up a “buddy system”, in which students with disabilities are accompanied to the safe zone by their fellow classmates and teachers. UNDP has also developed a guidebook, with technical support from the Disabilities Council of Thailand, so other schools can set up their own evacuation plan for students with and without disabilities. 

 

Angoon Wongcharoen, chief of the Thai Red Cross Health Station No 14, said Prathom 4 students and above are being taught how to call for help, deal with broken limbs and other minor injuries, as well as how to transport incapacitated classmates and how and when to do CPR.

 

She said these students are being taught how to do all these things in real-life situations “by using their hands and the materials they have at hand like sticks, cloth, rope and cardboard”.

 

These five schools in Phang Nga are among the 114 schools in 18 Asia-Pacific countries participating in UNDP’s “Strengthening School Preparedness for Tsunamis” initiative, funded by Japan. 

 

 

The programme, which ran from June 2017 to November 2018, covered Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

 

The challenge for UNDP now is to make the project sustainable. 

 

“These five schools are part of a pilot project,” said Lovita Ramguttee, UNDP Thailand’s deputy resident representative. 

 

Japan agreed this month to fund the project’s second phase, with the aim of getting local authorities to scale up emergency drills to other schools facing natural disasters.

 

“Drills need to be conducted regularly since new students are enrolled every year. With nearly 1,000 schools in Thailand at risk, the need to scale up exponentially is a challenge,” she said. 

 

“Once the guidelines are built into the school system [the procedure will be sustainable] even when one school head retires and someone else comes in. It is there for them to follow as important guiding principles. So, students keep practising and it doesn’t take them by surprise one day if a tsunami strikes again,” she said.

 

Aporn wants to ensure her school remains prepared even as new generations of students and teachers come and go.

 

“If the local government authorities and local communities continue to conduct the drills, then so will we,” she said.

 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30361138

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-26

[NanLaew]

What alarm?

 

The recent Indonesian tsunami highlighted that their tsunami early-warning system, ie. the very front-end of the alarm system, the alarm button itself, was broken and had been broken for several years.

 

Whatever tsunami early-warning system that their Prime Minister is referring to was significantly augmented and largely updated in a region-wide upgrade of such systems in the aftermath of the 'big one' back in 2004. Subsequently, there's been the systemic inclination to disregard that things get stolen, old, broken, vandalized, batteries expire or otherwise rendered inoperable. I understand that in the aftermath of the 2004 disaster, these remote, automated detection buoys were a cool US$1m a pop. I would hazard that their replacements will easily be twice as expensive?

 

One would assume (yes, I know that's dangerous) that some government department was entrusted with the ownership of this system, someone in that department was entrusted with monitoring its use and status maybe assigning someone with a technical oversight to do this. When (or if) it was reported as needing repairs and maintenance, someone didn't act to resolve the fact that the doorbell is broken.

 

I am not at all sure if these or the shiny new and much more expensive systems come with a warranty, spare parts or training. But I consider that with the latest tranche of Japanese funding, the UNDP would be better served cajoling and bludgeoning regional governments into acting more responsibly towards their citizens and look after the equipment and have accountability if/when the broken doorbell isn't fixed. Otherwise their concept of sustainability will simply result in more children drowning as they huddle under their desks... if they even get that far.

[finnomick]

That's right, huddle under your desks because it'll be no use standing on them, after all, water doesn't rise does it ? A good department to put in charge would be the one dealing with reducing the death toll on the roads i.e. nothing substantial will be done.

[miamiman123]

A sufficient warning to all concerned 

[ashkale]

There was a tonne of money which poured in from various EEC countries and development bodies to develop and maintain this early warning system. I wonder what happened to all of it, considering that even the "manual" switch has been broken or non-existent for many years.

Edited December 26, 2018 by ashkale

[DM07]

1) this will happen until next month, when everything is forgotten again

2) I would REALLY not trust any government official, who says, the warning -system is working fine, especially ...

3)...if that statement is followed up with crap like "although it is damaged for years" or similar

4) if something like 26.12.04 happens EVER again and it turns out, that the warning system was NOT working, it will be the final nail in the tourism- coffin, for Thailand!

 

[Dibbler]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

“The drill is detailed and systematic,” Apron said. 

Thai "plan-NING" and "tech-no-lo-GY" is totally inadequate for the next catastrophic natural disaster.  Remember most of the post-tsunami aid was stolen and misappropriated by various authorities.  Budgets allocated for disaster preparation including early warning systems have been trimmed and skimmed. All they can do is hope it never happens again. 

[HalfLight]

Determined to impress with their readiness. Written to all the correct people to keep them in the loop I expect.

 

Excellent.

 

I have a feeling that Sumatra might get in the way of any tsunami coming round the corner on the way to smiting Thailand though...

 

10/10 for keen, 2/10 for geography.

 

 

 

[dcnx]

9 hours ago, DM07 said:

1) this will happen until next month, when everything is forgotten again

2) I would REALLY not trust any government official, who says, the warning -system is working fine, especially ...

3)...if that statement is followed up with crap like "although it is damaged for years" or similar

4) if something like 26.12.04 happens EVER again and it turns out, that the warning system was NOT working, it will be the final nail in the tourism- coffin, for Thailand!

 

As much as it should be the final nail for Thailand, people forget quickly. Within a year they will pour right back in and the new and improved alert system that will be installed then will also be forgotten about. But let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.

[hotchilli]

Thainess has shown time and time again that nothing is ever learned unless it comes in a free package.

Just like Indonesia, the budget for maintenance was zero.. the Tsunami warning system was inoperable since 2012, an appalling admission of negligence by the very authorities who were tasked with the safety of the population!

The training yes I have to agree spreads awareness among the children, but it's all useless if you're sitting in your classroom unaware that a Tsunami is about to hit !!!