Picture courtesy of The Atlantic

 

Phuket's Governor Sophon Suwannarat has reassured residents and visitors that the island is safe following a significant 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar. The earthquake shook Mandalay on Friday, March 28, affecting northern Thailand, but did not impact Phuket, which lies nearly 2,000 kilometres away. There have been no infrastructure damages or tourist disruptions on the island.

 

While some felt mild tremors at Phuket Provincial Hospital, inspections of the island's high-rise buildings showed no structural issues. Governor Sophon confirmed that there is no tsunami threat to Phuket. Both the National Disaster Warning Centre and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation are on alert but report no immediate concerns.

 

Tourism continues unaffected, with daily arrivals consistently between 15,000 and 17,000. Phuket’s disaster preparedness includes 19 operational tsunami-warning towers and a forthcoming mobile alert system, ensuring the island is well-prepared for potential emergencies.

 

 

 

Recent unfounded tsunami rumours linked to minor tremors in Banda Aceh, rather than the Mandalay quake, have been dispelled. This cautious stance comes from hard-learned lessons from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, prompting vigilance in disaster response.

 

Governor Sophon encourages reliance on official channels for information to prevent unnecessary panic. With robust safety measures in place, Phuket remains open for tourism and well-protected, reported The Thaiger.

 

-- 2025-03-31

 

 

Oh my God.. Phuket did not get any attention in the disaster of last Friday.. The most important place must now declare that they are safe, while there was no threat at all for them

I bet they will be out testing their warning system, considering maintenance is not a top concern here. If something did happen, and they didn’t go off, there would be some serious issues for Thailand that they would have a hard time dealing with. 

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Tourism continues unaffected, with daily arrivals consistently between 15,000 and 17,000.

Surprised Phuket has not sunk with this many daily arrivals!! 😄

Never had any tsunami drills for years. I bet this quake bucks them up. 

Of course this northern part of the rift shifted big time, and is now logically putting increased pressure above and below its epicenter. And right by Phuket, as the connecting faults go from Nepal to Indonesia.

But yeah… “Phukets secure” said a gov. with little knowledge of regional plate tectonics. 

2 hours ago, worrab said:

Surprised Phuket has not sunk with this many daily arrivals!! 😄

Low quality tourists all over the place! Not coming back!

Phuket Stays Secure Despite Myanmar Quake, Assures Governor

 

Quake is not bound by the words of governor though.