Thailand's Earthquake Alert Failure: Senate Slams Govt

[webfact]

Duria, who is searching for his relatives, talks on the phone after reading the sign board of number of people dead and missing after an under-construction high-rise building collapsed in an earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, Monday, March, 31, 2025. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

 

In the wake of Friday's Myanmar earthquake, Thailand's government faces sharp criticism from the Senate for its sluggish response that saw strong tremors barrel through the country.

 

Senator Romsit Wiriyasan catalysed the debate, highlighting the chaos of evacuations, traffic jams obstructing rescue workers, and delayed warning messages as evidence of weak crisis management. His urgent motion aims to prompt a comprehensive Upper House discussion, with recommendations set to follow for governmental and agency improvements.

 

Pol Gen Maj Romsit aired grievances over the absence of a decisive government leader during the crisis. Senator Wutthipong Pongsuwan emphasised the lack of progress in emergency planning since the 2004 tsunami, urging for more regular disaster drills.

 

Furthermore, the senator stressed the necessity of accelerating the 'cell broadcast service' for warning dissemination via mobile phones—improvements seen as crucial to managing future crises.

 

Senator Nantana Nantavaropas drew comparisons to past calamities, bemoaning the repetitive inadequacy of government communication.

 

 

 

The collapse of the State Audit Office's new building highlighted structural issues demanding investigation—a point underscored by Sen Premsak Piayura, questioning accountability within state agencies.

 

Following these criticisms, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra convened a crisis meeting on Monday, pulling in major telecom operators like Advanced Info Service and True Corporation.

 

Discussions centered on SMS alerts, exploring their viability as part of a proactive disaster response program. Despite SMS not being a primary alert channel, the PM pushed for improved message reach, with True Corporation's Chakkrit Urairat explaining current dissemination challenges.

 

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation's initial text alert, sent over an hour after the quake, triggered further scrutiny. This message, dispensed to millions in multiple batches, elicited demands for swifter delivery.

 

Looking ahead, PM Paetongtarn called for expanded alert capacity well beyond the current 200,000-user limitation, expecting future solutions to include nationwide cell broadcast advancements by mid-2024.

 

Ultimately, while steps towards refining Thailand’s disaster alert infrastructure are underway, the stir in the Senate underscores national calls for rapid reform and enhanced readiness—a sentiment resonating beyond this latest seismic episode in Myanmar.

 

Based on a story by Bangkok Post

 

-- 2025-04-01

 

 

[tomazbodner]

It's really bad karma on Shinawatras... Thaksin's reign saw a tsunami. Yingluck massive floods. Paetongarn a pretty massive quake.

 

Any other siblings lined up to become a PM? We haven't had a tornado yet.

[MikeandDow]

Miss muppet and this goverment really dont know what they are doing !!  its mistake after mistake, preventive action is not a word in there vocabulary.

[Tropicalevo]

27 minutes ago, webfact said:

Pol Gen Maj Romsit aired grievances over the absence of a decisive government leader during the crisis.

 

But she was on holiday in Phuket.

No earthquake there.

[jcmj]

If they can send an Amber Alert to all cellphones in the US in seconds then I guess Thailand needs to contact someone there or in any country that has this in place already. You can’t tell me that every mobile service can send a text to all of their customers about a bill or a promotion, but can’t figure out how to send an alert???

[MikeandDow]

16 minutes ago, jcmj said:

If they can send an Amber Alert to all cellphones in the US in seconds then I guess Thailand needs to contact someone there or in any country that has this in place already. You can’t tell me that every mobile service can send a text to all of their customers about a bill or a promotion, but can’t figure out how to send an alert???

The problem is thailand does not know what its doing  they have no idea miss muppet is telling everyone she wants sms to over 100000 people she does not know what she is talking about.the mouth moves and shxt comes out nobody in this goverment does research or due diligence  all they have to do is google WEA systems  this is the system that does the amber alerts  to as many people as you want and does not slow down as sms does, they do not say anything to her because of her father  this is dragging thailand down

[portisaacozzy]

9 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

It's really bad karma on Shinawatras... Thaksin's reign saw a tsunami. Yingluck massive floods. Paetongarn a pretty massive quake.

 

Any other siblings lined up to become a PM? We haven't had a tornado yet.

or a volcano eruption oe a beer shortage[ had one in Oz nearly had to cancel my wedding true]

[MikeandDow]

8 minutes ago, portisaacozzy said:

or a volcano eruption oe a beer shortage[ had one in Oz nearly had to cancel my wedding true]

beer shortage thing of the passed in oz  they are building a 3300 klm pipeline to transport beer from perth to the eastern states across the nullarbor plain

[dinsdale]

No surprise that Anutin's farce of a senate would critisise the PM.

[dinsdale]

19 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

beer shortage thing of the passed in oz  they are building a 3300 klm pipeline to transport beer from perth to the eastern states across the nullarbor plain

Wow! I remember one year they said scientists had developed a spaghetti tree. 

[Unamerican]

34 minutes ago, portisaacozzy said:

or a volcano eruption

Which volcano did you have in mind?? 

[richard_smith237]

4 hours ago, jcmj said:

If they can send an Amber Alert to all cellphones in the US in seconds then I guess Thailand needs to contact someone there or in any country that has this in place already. You can’t tell me that every mobile service can send a text to all of their customers about a bill or a promotion, but can’t figure out how to send an alert???

 

Indeed...   In Japan, having arrived less than a few hours earlier, Data Roaming (Wifi calling on)...   my AppleWatch and iPhone alarms went off - highlighting a natural disaster alert at the same time an earthquake rocked the hotel... 

 

This alert system was announced back in March 2024 - as its not in place already, I can only assume a signature somewhere has not been signed... someone wants their cut as I really can't see what other holdup could cause something which appears (on the surface at least) such an obvious thing to set up considering so many other countries do it.

 

[MikeandDow]

9 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Wow! I remember one year they said scientists had developed a spaghetti tree. 

so you know what date it is then   no fun grumpy