Tsunami Warning System Finally Ready, After 8 Years: Thailand

[webfact]

EIGHTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY

Tsunami warning system finally ready, after 8 years

Chularat Saengpassa,

Pongphon Sarnsamak

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Thailand now has the best warning system in Southeast Asia, eight years after the Andaman coast was ravaged by a devastating tsunami on Boxing Day in 2004.

Before monstrous waves hit Thai shores and killed over 8,000 people in six provinces along the southern coast, no one knew the tsunami was coming.

All that will change with the early alert system and instruments installed by the National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) along the Andaman coast over the past eight years, backed by necessary regulations.

Now, ample time for evacuation is assured with streamlined regulations, in a bid to save lives.

The devastating waves killed 5,395 people - many of them foreign tourists - with another 2,817 people swept away or lost. Over 58,550 people were affected, including 1,480 children who lost one or both parents.

"Within two minutes (after tsunami waves start to form), we can now calculate the speed and know exactly when they will reach the shore. Messages could be sent out immediately after the calculation," Captain Song Ekmahachai, chief of the NDWC’s Disaster Warning and Dissemination Division, told The Nation in an exclusive interview.

He said alerts could be sent to the public within 15 minutes via satellite and warning towers.

To prevent another disaster from an earthquake-driven tsunami, the NDWC has set up 136 warning towers and three tsunami-detection buoys in the Andaman Sea - one near the coast and two others in the deep sea. When an abnormal tidal wave is detected, the buoys send data to the NDWC via satellite, where staff members work around the clock to monitor updates on computer screens. Many will miss the opportunity to celebrate New Year and other festivals.

The centre then double-checks data with the Thai Meteorological Department, the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), and other authorised disaster monitoring agencies to confirm the occurrence.

Upon confirmation, the centre calculates the wave direction and expected arrival time. This can be completed in two minutes, allowing the centre to send out correct warning messages to the public via satellite and warning towers.

Messages will be sent to the media and related agencies via 16 fax machines, 8 hotlines, hundreds of radio stations, and dozens of television stations.

The centre has the capacity to send short messages to 90 million mobile phones, but due to budget constraints, it has limited the access to some 15,000 public officials throughout the country.

NDWC director Group Captain Somsak Khaosuwan said the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) will issue a regulation soon that allows the centre to broadcast tsunami warning messages whenever necessary.

"We will no longer need permission from the Television Pool of Thailand or TV station directors. We can interrupt any ongoing television programme," he said.

A directive will also be issued to designate the NDWC as the only agency responsible for issuing tsunami alerts. All other agencies and experts, including academics, will be barred from giving such alerts, in order to prevent the spreading of wrong information that may cause panic.

"They [would] just speak to the public without responsibility. We are the only ones who have the authority to send out tsunami warning messages," Somsak said.

Because the 2004 tsunami was caused by a huge quake in the Indian Ocean, near the Andaman Sea, the NDWC will also monitor earthquakes around the world, particularly ones in the Indian Ocean and the Andaman Sea.

Associate Professor Penneung Warnitchai, an earthquake expert at the Asian Institute of Technology, said data over the past few years suggested there had been no increase in the number of severe earthquakes in the Indian Ocean since 2004. Each year there are about 10 quakes of over-7 magnitude in the ocean. However, the damage toll could rise, as many growing cities are located in areas rated as "high-risk" for quake hazards.

The NDWC's Song said quake alerts would be sent out when a tremor of 7.8 magnitude is detected in the Indian Ocean, with its epicentre 100 kilometres underground.

To ensure people understand how to respond to warning messages, the centre also organises training to teach local residents in coastal areas on how to prepare themselves for tsunami and related disasters.

Somsak from the warning centre admitted the system could not save lives and damage without public cooperation.

"If they do not run away from the big waves, no one can help them," he said. "The only thing that can save you from a huge wave is running away to higher ground as fast as you can. Don’t stop and waste your time taking a photo of the big wave. It will kill you," Somsak said.

-- The Nation 2012-12-25

[fareastguy]

Now you just have to educate the public.. biggest problem of all.

[DocN]

Now you just have to educate the public.. biggest problem of all.

Exactly!

For example, keep them from stealing everything from the Tsunami- warning towers, like it happened in Khao Lak over and over.

Edited December 25, 2012 by DocN

[chainarong]

Good now I can organize a few Earthquakes to see if it actually works

[jerrysteve]

8 years is certainly better than 9 years...Now all they have to do is figure out how to read it interpret the data, get the word out etc etc etc. But the best part I am quite sure is pocketing all the International Donations. That will be the Icing on the Cake....

[Ricardo]

Hope they remember to change the batteries, on the warning-buoys, in future !

[chantsurfer]

National Tsunami Warning System Turns Out To Be One Twitter Account

BANGKOK – Following this week’s massive earthquake and tsunami scare that sparked evacuations in almost 30 countries, it was revealed that Thailand’s entire tsunami warning system was nothing more than a single Twitter account.

The revelation was made by the opposition Democrats at a special news conference this morning, when spokesperson Buranat Samutrak showed what he claimed was incontrovertible evidence that the nation’s Bt6 billion tsunami warning system, installed by the Thaksin Shinawatra administration following the tsunami of December 2004, was just one person tweeting updates from a mobile phone.

“This is a perfect example of how Thaksin and his government exploited the nation’s fears and the tragic events of 2004 to line his own pockets,” Buranat said.

However, the Yingluck government was quick to deny any wrongdoing and instead praised the effectiveness of the warning system. Pheu Thai spokesperson Prompong Nopparit noted that the international media had hailed the event as a “successful test” of the system and that many media outlets had praised Thailand for learning the lessons of 2004.

“We managed to get hundreds of thousands of people away from the coast in less than 15 minutes, well in time to be safe from any tsunami, which we are grateful never materialized,” he said. “The fact that the Democrats would take this great achievement from the Thai people and make it an issue shows that they are bankrupt of ideas.”

Source

Edited December 25, 2012 by Scott
: Edited per fair use policy.

[bigbamboo]

Eight years?

Just as well Noah wasn't a Thai.

[chantsurfer]

Many will miss the opportunity to celebrate New Year and other festivals.

Welcome to the real world Thailand

[belg]

cannot imagine any warning when on the beach of kao lak, if just outside the hotel area, it is desolated ... who will come to warn me ? some jet-ski scammer? loooooooooool

[Payboy]

"Within two minutes (after tsunami waves start to form), we can now calculate the speed and know exactly when they will reach the shore. Messages could be sent out immediately after the calculation," Captain Song Ekmahachai, chief of the NDWC’s Disaster Warning and Dissemination Division, told The Nation in an exclusive interview.

Let's just hope the calculator is solar powered.

[MaxLee]

That must be another joke at the year end

[CantSpell]

Got the buoys.. Good start...

Now, just have to remind them that most towers and sirens on the beach and not properly linked to the system as was showed in the April 11th alert earlier this year....

Lip service for the community or the foreign embassy? Or just simple BS?

[Chrisswe]

Don't forget this warning system need preventive maintenance.

[lucknu]

this is thailand bashing at its best.

sometime it doesn't matter if its a good news, bad news, stupid news, intelligent news.

thailand and its stupid people are always the victim of your text abuse.

while i agree a lot of things in this country doesnt make any sense. but i fail to see how day-to-day bashing without any constructive comment will make it any better.

[CantSpell]

this is thailand bashing at its best.

That is a question of point of view: April 11th, I was standing 15 meters away from the seafront supervising potential evacuation of 200-300 people under my responsibility...

The only proper warnings we had was blackberry emails from IOC that is international body, not from NDWC...

The towers and sirens did not work at all... Had to wait until clearance email from IOC as no news came at all from the Thai system itself.

Since then, after they admitted that some towers were not linked properly, no mention anywhere that the system was repaired and NO TEST has been done at all if eventual repairs. I would have heard the sirens and would have received info from local authorities before any test was going to happen... Nothing, nada, no test...

Maybe it is just the nation making some buzz to get headlines but this is serious matter, bashing those kind of report is not bashing Thailand but bashing poor reporting and potentially false information that could give people a false sense of safety when safety is not guaranteed at all....

Edited December 25, 2012 by CantSpell

[Credo]

I get very skeptical about these reports as well. The Tsunami Warning system requires redundant systems and 24/7 monitoring. It requires professional employees who do not sleep on the job, spend hours updating their facebook account or texting friends.

Not too long ago, there was a massive power outage that affected Suvarnabhumi and DM airport. The power system was not properly maintained and nobody, IIRC, was manning the backup system.

[Arandora]

cannot imagine any warning when on the beach of kao lak, if just outside the hotel area, it is desolated ... who will come to warn me ? some jet-ski scammer? loooooooooool

Since there are no jet skis on any of Khao Lak's beaches you won't get a warning that way!!

[cloudhopper]

thailand and its stupid people are always the victim of your text abuse.

while i agree a lot of things in this country doesnt make any sense. but i fail to see how day-to-day bashing without any constructive comment will make it any better.

Well they do make it easy, and nothing posted here on TV, constructive or disparaging, will ever make it any different. Anyone who has been here long will agree that even the most polite and constructive criticism is usually ignored, if not taken badly, by the most fragile egos on the planet.

[alanferdi]

Now you just have to educate the public.. biggest problem of all.

I agree... remember the Metro crash.... the University educated operator left for lunch. / Responsibility vs traditional lifestyles. NO Some thumbs or excuses... Learn to be responsible!!!!! DO THE RIGHT THING!

[DocN]

cannot imagine any warning when on the beach of kao lak, if just outside the hotel area, it is desolated ... who will come to warn me ? some jet-ski scammer? loooooooooool

Jet -Ski? In Khao Lak! You are obviously an expert!

[EyesWideOpen]

this is thailand bashing at its best.

sometime it doesn't matter if its a good news, bad news, stupid news, intelligent news.

thailand and its stupid people are always the victim of your text abuse.

while i agree a lot of things in this country doesnt make any sense. but i fail to see how day-to-day bashing without any constructive comment will make it any better.

Nothing will make it better. Only if you have a sense of humor can you see the amusement created by the spending of 6 billion baht for a warning system, which is one guy sending tweets...... Well I am sure the mia nois and the Mercedes dealers are happy.... :-)

[Skywalker69]

Warning towers "useless"

Crippled by robberies and inadequate maintenance, tsunami warning towers in some provinces in the South may not be able to send out an alarm when needed.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Warning-towers-useless-30196834.html

[tinfoilhat]

it is a form of social darwinism is it not?

If the govt and the population are unable to learn from the past or have memories that are so poor they are willing to cannibalize the warning system for short term gain, then perhaps the warning system is unnecessary, and a cull is required

[FarangKenStine]

I just listen to CNN. If they say the wave is coming, I hide under my bed.

[CantSpell]

http://ptwc.weather.gov/subscribe.php

Email warning system for underwater earthquake in case anyone want to register.

After earthquake and depending on configuration and strength of the quake, follow-up emails will be send every 15 minutes which arrival time of the wave to several locations.

Fully free.