Thailand Opens A Tsunami Warning Centre

[george]

Thailand opens a tsunami warning centre

BANGKOK: -- Thailand opened a natural disaster warning centre on Monday, five months after the devastating tsunami killed more than 5,300 people on its southern coast.

"It takes them 15 minutes to send out warnings, more than enough time to warn people of a coming tsunami," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said as the Natural Disaster Warning Centre opened live on television from a northern suburb of Bangkok.

Although the tsunami warning system was not yet complete because it still required sea buoys to measure a tsunami's impact, it would be effective for now, Thaksin said.

The centre, supplied with 30 million baht ($750,000) worth of communication equipment from a group of American software firms, is crammed with computer screens and linked to earthquake centres in Japan and Hawaii, Thaksin said.

The centre, which would issue alerts on other natural disasters such as floods, forest fires, and hazardous chemical leaks, will receive and analyse earthquake information from provincial meteorological offices across the countrys.

If it believed a tsunami was coming, a warning would be sent to all television channels, radio stations and mobile phones by text messages, officials said. Last month, Thaksin attended Thailand's first tsunami evacuation drill on the beaches of Phuket, one of Asia's premier tourist resorts, which involved navy helicopters, ships, and three warning towers which blared warnings. Fifty more towers would be completed soon and the Thai centre was ready to share information with other countries if a tsunami was expected, he said on Monday.

Thailand's official death toll from the Indian Ocean disaster stands at 5,395. A further 2,822 people are listed as missing. ($1=40.34 Baht)

--Reuters 2005-05-30

[george]

PUBLIC SAFETY: Disaster early-warning centre opens

BANGKOK: -- Thailand yesterday became the first country hit by the December 26 tsunami to launch a natural disaster early-warning system.

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra opened the National Disaster Warning Centre in Nonthaburi yesterday.

Thaksin, officials, experts and diplomats watched a drill that simulated the systems response to an earthquake of a level likely to cause a tsunami in the Indian Ocean.

“I’m satisfied with the performance. I think we’re the first,” he said.

He said the government would draw up legislation to provide a legal basis for the centre’s work soon and added that the government has allocated a budget of over Bt100 million for the centre.

If an earthquake capable of generating a tsunami occurs, the centre would gather information from the Meteorological Department and seismological stations around the world on its severity, location, and the likelihood of a tidal wave.

Agencies that would provide information include the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii, Japan’s Meteorological Agency and the US Geological Survey.

If a tsunami was likely to hit provinces on the Andaman Sea, the centre would inform senior officials and Thaksin before alerting the public via text messages to all mobile phones in the country and live TV and radio broadcasts.

Warning towers on the beaches would alert tourists and residents.

More than 25 experts in several fields from natural sciences to crisis management will monitor the situation around the clock.

The centre will handle all kinds of disasters, but initially it will focus on monitoring conditions likely to generate a tsunami, said Smith Dharmasaroja, chairman of a panel established to set up the system.

--The Nation 2005-05-31

[The Gentleman Scamp]

Just out of interest...

How many tsunami's have there been worldwide in the past 100 years?

[Kan Win]

One too many

[NBT TV Phuket]

You can see/hear a mini-video of interview (in English)

at http://www.thaisnews.com/news_detail.php?newsid=134732

or http://www.thaisnews.com/vdo/05184191850v.asf

with Smith Dharmasaraoja, a previous Meteorological Department Chief, who after the Tsunami was appointed Vice Minister to the Office of the Prime Minister and assigned to be in charge of research and the set up of Early Warning Systems against future disasters. On Saturday Mr. Smith came down from Bangkok to Phuket and we had a chance to talk to him, for Andaman News TV11 & FM90.5 in Phuket – for program on 8.30am Monday 4 July

We discussed (in rough order):

National Early Warning Centre in Bangkok and international earthquake sensors;

the Royal Thai Navy’s wave measuring sensors in the sea;

progress on the next local Andaman Early Warning Systems;

all the planned towers, especially in low lying/badly destroyed locations, like Khao Lak and Phi Phi;

funding for the local systems, & how much budget they each need;

How Bangkok link with the Andaman systems;

if the local system in Patong was already fully operational or does it still really need to be linked with Bangkok?

the basic procedures by Bangkok & local authorities, to assure people and tourists here of their safety;

How long the process takes, from an earthquake until people receive the first warning of a possible Tsunami?

Will every new system have a practice drill separately or at same time?

Will they be carried out during night times as well, and how often in future?

Have the government publicized the systems AND drills worldwide and how? Are foreign news channels given free videos?

Have they been working/advising with other regional or global agencies on the system?

Some foreign hoteliers have suggested there be a dedicated foreign language TV channel(s) for disaster warnings, etc as last time there was little information, even in English. What did he think?

Does Thailand have enough experts now and academic courses for the future?

(we also think www.iris.edu/seismon/ is a good website for automatic updates of recent earthquakes)

[Jai Dee]

THE TSUNAMI WARNING SYSTEM WILL BE COMPLETE BY DECEMBER 26th

The minister attached to the Prime Minister's Office is confident the tsunami warning system will certainly be completed before this coming December 26th.

Prime Minister's Office Minister Suranand Vejjajiva (สุรนันท์ เวชชาชีวะ) said before today's cabinet meeting that the installation of the warning system will be complete before December 26th, in order to restore confidence among tourists.

As for the news relay towers in Phang Nga, these are expected to be finished within the next 2 months. They will be linked with the radio network to provide timely information for the public, especially at the risky spots in Khaolak (เขาหลัก), where the Phang Nga governor has been told to complete the work as quickly as possible.

Source: thaisnews.com ประจำวันอังคารที่ 6 กันยายน 2548

[Jai Dee]

THE CABINET HAS APPROVED A BUDGET OF ABOUT 230 MILLION BAHT TO THE TSUNAMI WARNING CENTRE NEXT YEAR

A budget of almost 230 million baht for the tsunami warning centre has been approved during the Cabinet meeting today.

MR. DANUPORN PUNONKUN (ดนุพร ปุณณกัณต์), the Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister’s Office, has revealed that the Cabinet has endorsed six projects to develop the Andaman coastal provinces. The projects include the land and sea transport infrastructures, the tourism destinations on P.P. Island, and the roads development between PHANG NGA – GAPONG - TAKUA PA (พังงา-กะปง-ตะกั่วป่า) areas. The Andaman coastal provinces will also be restored to be the marine tourism centre of the world. A budget of 229,271,410 baht has also been approved by the Cabinet. The fund has been granted to the tsunami warning centre, to help the tsunami-stricken locals. Meanwhile, the Cabinet has assigned Radio Thailand, TV 11, the Public Relations Department, and the local cable TV networks to be the warning hub for the residents in different areas.

The Cabinet has also endorsed the idea of setting up a fund to establish tsunami warning systems in the Indian Ocean and the south-eastern Asia region, in which the budget will be around 10 million USD. The money will help improve the capacity of the warning systems. The Foreign Affairs Minister of Thailand will sign the draft for the fund establishment tonight.

Source: thaisnews.com ประจำวันอังคารที่ 6 กันยายน 2548