Tsunami Warning - Kata Beach Tower

[LivinginKata]

Right this minute they are broadcasting a tsunami warning to evacuate the beach. Is this a test ?

I checked the USGS earthquake site and I can find nothing today

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/

[Guest]

Hopefully a test

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/617464-phuket-full-scale-tsunami-drill-not-to-be-announced-in-russian/

[LivinginKata]

Now they are saying everything back to normal - false alarm

Ah yes - I remember the PG announcing a test on the 21st

[LivinginKata]

Very realistic 'test'. No mention of test in the many repeated announcements. And no mention of test when the all clear was given. I heard the screams from the beach - they for sure thought it was real.

[Guest]

I understood that governments have to think twice if they give evacuation orders as there is always a risk that people can get hurt while trying to escape the situation. This is in the case there is a real danger which could become an disaster or not.

In case of testing it's a failure to clearly announce that it is just an drill. People will simply react in different ways when they know it's a drill or true event.

[IrishIvan]

It was sheer madness. I was sitting down at boathouse having a lovely meal and was going to wait for happy hour. About 5000 people sprinted off the beach. Kids crying and lots of confused people. Well done TAT

[Guest]

That picture does not really show any confusion. Did you manage to take some photos while people were running?

[PST]

has been in all 3 local newspapers the last week,and there are several posters/banners in the kata/karon area that have been up for the last 10 days announcing that today is a tsunami drill.

PST.

[petercallen]

has been in all 3 local newspapers the last week,and there are several posters/banners in the kata/karon area that have been up for the last 10 days announcing that today is a tsunami drill.

PST.

Also on the Englished radio as well, how could people not know it was a system test/drill

[Guest]

Tourists don't read local newspapers or listen local radio. Streets are filled with visual trash, which we sometimes call advertises.

Hopefully there is someone out there who's task is to notice the failures and figure out better ways to communicate to the public.

[PST]

has been in all 3 local newspapers the last week,and there are several posters/banners in the kata/karon area that have been up for the last 10 days announcing that today is a tsunami drill.

PST.

Also on the Englished radio as well, how could people not know it was a system test/drill

It was mentioned in one paper that the announcement would not be made it Russian,that probably explains the panic on the beach,but why don't the hotel managers etc tell these people that it's going to happen??,cant be that hard to get a leaflet printed in whatever language and left in their hotel rooms,but obviously it is.

I live in a soi of about 100 people in Karon,thai,expat and holiday makers,no one batted an eyelid,because they all knew.

PST.

[PST]

Tourists don't read local newspapers or listen local radio. Streets are filled with visual trash, which we sometimes call advertises.

Hopefully there is someone out there who's task is to notice the failures and figure out better ways to communicate to the public.

Positive it was in a russian version of one of the 3 big newspapers here.

PST

[webfact]

Tourists deny Phuket tsunami drill ‘panic’
Naraporn Tuarob


Chamaiporn Boongrajang: “There were announcements yesterday. I saw only two Thai people running away today.

The “panic” was reported at 2:54 pm by a member of the ThaiVisa.com community who reported, “Another day of mayhem down at the beach.

PHUKET: -- Tourists on the beach at Kata this afternoon have denied an online report that there was panic just before 3 pm when tsunami warning sirens sounded for an evacuation practice.

“Wouldn’t it be wise to tell people that there was a drill?

“The whole beach cleared. Kids were crying. People were absolutely terrified. Just pure insanity.”

But beachgoers The Phuket News spoke with said there was no panic. Quite the opposite. Many had heard announcements yesterday that there was to be a drill today, and were expecting it. Those who did not know were quickly informed by those who did.

One tourist from Hawaii, who asked not to be named, said, “I was here when the tsunami took place in 2004. Back then the water receded a long way, so it was obvious to me we should run away.”

He was in the sea yesterday when announcements were made of the upcoming drill, so did not hear them, but today he heard the warning message, in four languages (Thai, Japanese, Chinese and English), which stated that the warning was a drill.

A Thai vendor, Chamaiporn Boongrajang, 34, told The Phuket News, “There were announcements yesterday. I saw only two Thai people running away today. Some people waited in the water when the announcement was made and most of them came out of the water and waited.

“Ten minutes later, everything was back to normal.”

The Hawaiian tourist said that the sound quality from the speakers on the tsunami warning tower and official vehicles was good and clear.

If anything, the reaction was too laid back. The Hawaiian said, "The physical presence of authority needs to be there to make sure the beach is cleared. If it was the real thing, people would not have left.”

Experience tells a different story. On April 11 last year a full tsunami warning, triggered by an 8.7-Richter quake near Sumatra, worked well, clearing the beaches and low-lying towns along Phuket’s west coast.

There were some injuries reported, and cases of people who had not heard the warning, but the vast majority of people were well out of the danger zone by the time of the predicted arrival of the wave.

In the event, there was no tsunami.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/tourists-deny-phuket-tsunami-drill-%E2%80%98panic%E2%80%99-37270.php


-- Phuket News 2013-02-22

[phuturatica]

Some Thaivisa members are so dramatic!

[diddums]

Some Thaivisa members are so dramatic!

Drama queens perhaps.

Or just boosting a slow day.

[IrishIvan]

Some Thaivisa members are so dramatic!

Have a look at the Phuket News other articles. They cant even manage to get the name of the Soi that 3 major training camps are situated. Ill give them a hint. Its definitely not Soi Ta Lad. And it took me 5 mins to google the correct name. I wonder if they also get their stories from Facebook and Twitter? Edited February 22, 2013 by IrishIvan

[stevenl]

Some Thaivisa members are so dramatic!

Have a look at the Phuket News other articles. They cant even manage to get the name of the Soi that 3 major training camps are situated. Ill give them a hint. Its definitely not Soi Ta Lad. And it took me 5 mins to google the correct name. I wonder if they also get their stories from Facebook and Twitter?

If you'd have read the article you'd know the answer to your question.

And I must say that this time I agree with The Phuket News, my parents were on the beach at the time and they told me things were very calm after maybe 10 seconds panic with some people.

[IrishIvan]

Im guessing they werent at the south end

[stevenl]

Im guessing they werent at the south end

Ah, so all those 5,000 people sprinting of the beach were at the south end.

[IrishIvan]

Ok I took 2 photos yesterday at about 2.45pm yesterday. Ill do the same today and lets compare shall we

[IrishIvan]

See Steven this photo was taken 10 minutes ago. A full beach with people relaxing on deckchairs and also swimming. Quite different to yesterday

[IrishIvan]

[Guest]

The point of the testing was to evacuate the beach? Therefore it should get empty after the warning signals were played?

The question is. Were there panic with 5-6k people running to safety or not?

[IrishIvan]

The other question is why didnt PN take any photos of the tourists on the beach? They are a newspaper I am sure they can afford a camera

[stevenl]

20130222_150622-1.jpg

Different angle, so not possible to make any kind of comparison.

I would presume though there to be a few more people on the beach, but no way is the difference 5,000 people, let alone on the south end of the beach, and what is the connection to the panic you were describing? Even on yesterday's photo's, where there was supposed to be panic, all is calm and relaxed.

[IrishIvan]

Lets dissect this article shall we?Phuket tourists deny Tsunami panic:

Who are the people quoted in the news?

An anonymous Hawaiian was quoted in the PN, he sounds like an expat since he was here in the 2004 Tsunami. He didnt hear the warnings the other day about the upcoming drill when in the water, BUT quoting the PN The Hawaiian tourist said that the sound quality from the speakers on the tsunami warning tower and official vehicles was good and clear Lets not forget: He also managed to understand 4 different languages.

A somtum lady thats first language is probably Laos, would you call her a tourist?

A PN news reporter that starts the cover story from a post from public forum. The 2 iphone pictures the reporter took show a lot less than mine, I would think that a professional newspaper would issue their reporters with instructions to take a few pictures and report accurately. So if headline starts with "Tourists Deny"Perhaps they should interview and photograph some tourists?

A TV moderator (expat): Stated very realistic test I heard the screams from the beach- they for sure thought it was real He forgot about the announcements and notices as I had done

Myself (expat): I was sitting at Boathouse and the sirens startled me. The staff had to go and reassure everyone that it was ok and nothing to worry about. To me it was similar to when you are going through a thunderstorm on an airplane. You dont actually believe them when they say. its ok, I actually got out of there fairly quickly along with most of the other patrons. My post is backed up by photos from Boathouse, and then the next day from the end of the beach.

Sorry I dont run around with a camouflage vest on with zoom cameras hanging around my neck at all times. But I went down the end and took the pic back up to Boathouse to show the exact area I photographed yesterday close up

Lastly but not least is Stevenls parents, sorry but I didnt see their comments on the front page of the PN. Is it in a different section of the paper? Can you send me the link?

Steven keep giving your hearsay opinions though, also make sure you let all the TV members know next time your opinions make the local news.

Edited February 22, 2013 by IrishIvan

[stevenl]

Steven keep giving your hearsay opinions though, also make sure you let

all the TV members know next time your opinions make the local news.

And you must be proud of that, a real paper, both online and on paper, feeling the need to rectify your statements.

[IrishIvan]

Steven keep giving your hearsay opinions though, also make sure you let

all the TV members know next time your opinions make the local news.

And you must be proud of that, a real paper, both online and on paper, feeling the need to rectify your statements.

well I would hate to be misquoted or misunderstood

[Guest]

I think this episode is simply hilarious

On a more serious side, I do not like if newspapers will start quoting what we talk here.

If they start to do it more often, I'll be sure I'll start writing full nonsense just to ridicule the printing newspapers. Sarcasm and other forms of humor is not always understood by the outsiders.

[hansgruber]

Phuket news is a joke.

Why is this even an issue?

Worst journalism I've seen in my time here.

Irishivan would be the worst source of information after Kenny999.