Phuket Safe And Sound After Tsunami Scare

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Phuket safe and sound after tsunami scare

Phuket Gazette

A couple walk behind a rusted tsunami evacuation route sign at Yanui Beach. Photo: Phuket Gazette

PHUKET: -- The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), at 3am this morning, canceled the tsunami alert (not 'warning') that had been put in place as a result of an undersea earthquake off the west coast of Sumatra at 12:37am.

Director Somsak Khaosuwan told the Phuket Gazette this morning, “The warning was canceled at about 3am as the predicted time for a tsunami to strike the coast at 1:30am had passed.”

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) recorded the earthquake as 7.3 magnitude, occurring 423 kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh, on Sumatra, and an estimated 950km west of Kuala Lumpur.

The USGS released a report explaining that the earthquake had been caused by a strike-slip fault, meaning two tectonic plates moving sideways past each other.

The Indo-Australia plate moving north at a speed of 52 millimeters a year past the Sunda plate causes friction and occasionally earthquakes, the USGS reported.

San Jantharawong, chief of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket office, told the Gazette:

“After we received the alert from the NDWC, weclosely monitored the situation in case we needed to sound the tsunami warning [sirens in the towers].It would have sparked chaos if we immediately sounded the warning without firstconfirming with the NDWC that a warning was to be issued.”

DDPM chief San said he also took the opportunity to check with the NDWC that the tsunami-waring system was fully operational.

“They confirmed that it was and that they conduct regular tests,” he said.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...ticle11973.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-01-11

[keestha]

I received a text message alert concerning this event, and had a look at the PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, Hawaii based, and covering the whole world) website straight away. Stated was quite clearly, that there was only a very small chance of a local tsunami not more than 100 kilometers from the epicenter.

Edited January 12, 2012 by keestha

[Jimi007]

I never heard about it until I just read this. There would be an article in the news if they were going to test the towers, I sure haven't seen anything and I haven't heard the warning towers being tested in a couple of years.

[LivinginKata]

Yes, first I heard about this when I read the Gazette. Not much of an advance warning system ....

[stevenl]

Yes, first I heard about this when I read the Gazette. Not much of an advance warning system ....

And it was supposed to be that way. It was an alert, not a warning. A warning means the towers would (or maybe should, I don't fully trust it) have louded, an alert means only people on the several lists have been informed. E.g. poeple who who need to know because of their profession, and people who applied for this.

[LivinginKata]

Thanks steven. The sensational PG title confused me. Ok, then so how long does it take to go from 'alert' to 'warning' ..... Was that not the problem in 2004 when the appropriate government dept in Bangkok was alerted and then failed to act with a public warning.

[stevenl]

Thanks steven. The sensational PG title confused me. Ok, then so how long does it take to go from 'alert' to 'warning' ..... Was that not the problem in 2004 when the appropriate government dept in Bangkok was alerted and then failed to act with a public warning.

That would be decided in the black box of Thailand government decisions. As I said, I don't fully trust it, and that includes the whole process, giving a warning clearly ahead of time with ample escape time, etc.

In 2004 it was known just minutes ahead of time a tsunami was on its way. That was the first in living history, no nobody had any idea how serious that would be, there was no alrm system in place, so no chance to get anubody away from the beach at all.

[LivinginKata]

In 2004 it was known just minutes ahead of time a tsunami was on its way. That was the first in living history, no nobody had any idea how serious that would be, there was no alrm system in place, so no chance to get anubody away from the beach at all.

Is that really true ... just minutes ahead ?? I would need to revisit the news stories after the event but it was my recollection that they had at least an hour to make a decision. The time for the wave to reach Phuket from Indonesia was about 3 or 4 hours. I appreciate that back then excuses could be made, but do you really think we are all safe from the next one ??? I am because I now live on a big hill. And it's not likely to happen again in my life time.

[stevenl]

In 2004 it was known just minutes ahead of time a tsunami was on its way. That was the first in living history, no nobody had any idea how serious that would be, there was no alrm system in place, so no chance to get anubody away from the beach at all.

Is that really true ... just minutes ahead ?? I would need to revisit the news stories after the event but it was my recollection that they had at least an hour to make a decision. The time for the wave to reach Phuket from Indonesia was about 3 or 4 hours. I appreciate that back then excuses could be made, but do you really think we are all safe from the next one ??? I am because I now live on a big hill. And it's not likely to happen again in my life time.

I'm not afraid because there is no point in that, if there were to be another one chances of me being hit are small anway, and mainly because I don't believe there will be another one for many, many years. If I believed there might be another one and would have to trust the alarm systems I would be very much afraid.