Public asked not to rely on social media for tsunami warnings

[rooster59]

Public asked not to rely on social media for tsunami warnings

Sukawin Tanthavanich



Deputy Director-General of the Meteorological Department Burin Wechbunthung spoke at a seminar on how to handle tsunami and earthquake warnings. Photo: Sukawin Tanthavanich

PHUKET: Officials are warning the public not to rely too heavily on social media when it comes to earthquake and tsunami warnings.

There are currently 40 seismometers throughout the Kingdom, which alert the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) in Bangkok of any seismic activity in the area, confirmed Deputy Director-General of the Meteorological Department Burin Wechbunthung.

“The NDWC evaluates data from sensors to decide whether a warning signal should be aired or not,” Mr Burin said. “Should there be a sizable earthquake, the NDWC will halt all TV broadcasting and inform the public of the situation. Additionally, the NDWC has offices in all six Andaman provinces. Should there be a tsunami warning, they will alert the local authorities to sound the alarms. You do not have to rely on social media.”

Mr Burin spoke on the subject in Phuket yesterday during a seminar on how to handle tsunami and earthquake warnings in the Andaman provinces.

Full story: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket-news/Public-asked-not-rely-social-media-tsunami/63338?desktopversion

-- Phuket Gazette 2016-03-05

[LivinginKata]

Well... that's NOT so helpful ... think I'll check social media first ..

[clockman]

Anything that affect tourism, Information is always guarded!

[BigBadGeordie]

And i am reading this post on.....,,,,,social media........

[sunnyjim5]

Did anyone notice that following an earthquake 3 days ago off the coast of Indonesia some TV forum "expert" immediately attempted to talk up the risk of a Tsunami here in Phuket ?

The "social media" is used by many whose only intent is to spread rumour in the hope of causing mass panic and confusion.

Any such information gleaned from "social media" should be confirmed from more reliable sources before allowing panic to set in.

Edited March 5, 2016 by sunnyjim5

[NCC1701A]

Did anyone notice that following an earthquake 3 days ago off the coast of Indonesia some TV forum "expert" immediately attempted to talk up the risk of a Tsunami here in Phuket ?

The "social media" is used by many whose only intent is to spread rumour in the hope of causing mass panic and confusion.

Any such information gleaned from "social media" should be confirmed from more reliable sources before allowing panic to set in.

i was the one who posted first here on TV about the earthquake and a few minutes later when a SEA corespondent post on twitter about a warning for Phuket. I thought about for about 30 seconds and thought better to repeat the warning here. If the threat had been real, a few extra minutes could have saved many lives. The period of time between my first post and conformation that there was no threat was less than five minutes. I don't think people were running for their lives because of my post. but what did happen is many people saw my post and began looking at web sites for info and posted it right way.

you can wait for the CLUELESS Thai government for info, I monitor the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center:

http://ptwc.weather.gov/

Edited March 5, 2016 by NCC1701A

[sunnyjim5]

Did anyone notice that following an earthquake 3 days ago off the coast of Indonesia some TV forum "expert" immediately attempted to talk up the risk of a Tsunami here in Phuket ?

The "social media" is used by many whose only intent is to spread rumour in the hope of causing mass panic and confusion.

Any such information gleaned from "social media" should be confirmed from more reliable sources before allowing panic to set in.

i was the one who posted first here on TV about the earthquake and a few minutes later when a SEA corespondent post on twitter about a warning for Phuket. I thought about for about 30 seconds and thought better to repeat the warning here. If the threat had been real, a few extra minutes could have saved many lives. The period of time between my first post and conformation that there was no threat was less than five minutes. I don't think people were running for their lives because of my post. but what did happen is many people saw my post and began looking at web sites for info and posted it right way.

You will then remember my immediately challenging your attempt to create panic by posting a link to a reliable source of information.

Twitter is only used by Twits !

[NCC1701A]

"“The NDWC evaluates data from sensors to decide whether a warning signal should be aired or not,” Mr Burin said. “Should there be a sizable earthquake, the NDWC will halt all TV broadcasting and inform the public of the situation. Additionally, the NDWC has offices in all six Andaman provinces. Should there be a tsunami warning, they will alert the local authorities to sound the alarms. You do not have to rely on social media.”

Did anyone see the Thai government put out a warning about the quake last night? Something like there has been a really big earthquake and please standby for tsunami warning info? like a lower third crawl across TV screens on the West Coast?

[NCC1701A]

Did anyone notice that following an earthquake 3 days ago off the coast of Indonesia some TV forum "expert" immediately attempted to talk up the risk of a Tsunami here in Phuket ?

The "social media" is used by many whose only intent is to spread rumour in the hope of causing mass panic and confusion.

Any such information gleaned from "social media" should be confirmed from more reliable sources before allowing panic to set in.

i was the one who posted first here on TV about the earthquake and a few minutes later when a SEA corespondent post on twitter about a warning for Phuket. I thought about for about 30 seconds and thought better to repeat the warning here. If the threat had been real, a few extra minutes could have saved many lives. The period of time between my first post and conformation that there was no threat was less than five minutes. I don't think people were running for their lives because of my post. but what did happen is many people saw my post and began looking at web sites for info and posted it right way.

You will then remember my immediately challenging your attempt to create panic by posting a link to a reliable source of information.

Twitter is only used by Twits !

please don't say i was attempting to create panic. BECAUSE I WAS NOT. Thank you.

[X pat]

Did anyone notice that following an earthquake 3 days ago off the coast of Indonesia some TV forum "expert" immediately attempted to talk up the risk of a Tsunami here in Phuket ?

The "social media" is used by many whose only intent is to spread rumour in the hope of causing mass panic and confusion.

Any such information gleaned from "social media" should be confirmed from more reliable sources before allowing panic to set in.

i was the one who posted first here on TV about the earthquake and a few minutes later when a SEA corespondent post on twitter about a warning for Phuket. I thought about for about 30 seconds and thought better to repeat the warning here. If the threat had been real, a few extra minutes could have saved many lives. The period of time between my first post and conformation that there was no threat was less than five minutes. I don't think people were running for their lives because of my post. but what did happen is many people saw my post and began looking at web sites for info and posted it right way.

you can wait for the CLUELESS Thai government for info, I monitor the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center:

http://ptwc.weather.gov/

Thanks,good web site.

[tomyumchai]

well it got me running to the hills...... im in mae sot.

[wabothai]

Why no warnings from the government on social media. The fastest way to reach people.

[Rorri]

What warning system do they have in place that actually works. We know the warning system on Phuket has never worked, they also have no evacuation procedure in place. As for 40 seismometers throughout the Kingdom, we know from the past, that many are lost and/or do not work.

[2fishin2]

Why no warnings from the government on social media. The fastest way to reach people.

Actually no. The Japanese has set up the warning system through telephone. Everybody with a cell phone gets notification of earthquakes, tsunamis and other major disasters. That is the best way of doing this.

[Rorri]

Why no warnings from the government on social media. The fastest way to reach people.

Actually no. The Japanese has set up the warning system through telephone. Everybody with a cell phone gets notification of earthquakes, tsunamis and other major disasters. That is the best way of doing this.

um, just in case you have a problem reading, this is about THAILAND, no other country.

[sunnyjim5]

Why no warnings from the government on social media. The fastest way to reach people.

Actually no. The Japanese has set up the warning system through telephone. Everybody with a cell phone gets notification of earthquakes, tsunamis and other major disasters. That is the best way of doing this.

Seems the Japanese "warning" system failed to warn many ----------------

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-17219008

[dageurreotype]

Did anyone notice that following an earthquake 3 days ago off the coast of Indonesia some TV forum "expert" immediately attempted to talk up the risk of a Tsunami here in Phuket ?

The "social media" is used by many whose only intent is to spread rumour in the hope of causing mass panic and confusion.

Any such information gleaned from "social media" should be confirmed from more reliable sources before allowing panic to set in.

Pity the 2004 foreknown but not for- tourism- reasons forewarned wasn't posted on 'social media'

[2fishin2]

Why no warnings from the government on social media. The fastest way to reach people.

Actually no. The Japanese has set up the warning system through telephone. Everybody with a cell phone gets notification of earthquakes, tsunamis and other major disasters. That is the best way of doing this.

um, just in case you have a problem reading, this is about THAILAND, no other country.

Oh yee of love to pick apart posts just to try and be better than others....

My quoted reference and subsequent comment was pointing out the fastest way of getting warnings out is not social media but through phone informational warnings through the various phone company provider's operations. Not everybody who has a mobile phone is on social media. Everybody who has a phone has a service provider.

And to the point of Japanese and system not working correctly....that issue was fixed unfortunately after the Tsunami but, it was fixed.

I have no problem reading.

[Rorri]

Why no warnings from the government on social media. The fastest way to reach people.

Actually no. The Japanese has set up the warning system through telephone. Everybody with a cell phone gets notification of earthquakes, tsunamis and other major disasters. That is the best way of doing this.

um, just in case you have a problem reading, this is about THAILAND, no other country.

Oh yee of love to pick apart posts just to try and be better than others....

My quoted reference and subsequent comment was pointing out the fastest way of getting warnings out is not social media but through phone informational warnings through the various phone company provider's operations. Not everybody who has a mobile phone is on social media. Everybody who has a phone has a service provider.

And to the point of Japanese and system not working correctly....that issue was fixed unfortunately after the Tsunami but, it was fixed.

I have no problem reading.

And not all tourists have mobile phones, connected to thai providers, not all thais speak fluent foreign languages. Tsunamis take time to travel, with effective, working, systems and a trained team, coastal areas can easily be evacuated, in fact, if we look at Patang, go to the second floor of any hotel, or jung ceylon, most tourist areas could operate the same, the problem would be the coastal villages, as thailand really doesn't care, the last 11 years has proven that. Another thing, I doubt thai providers have the technical ability to proved, and maintain, a warning service.

[sawadee1947]

What warning system do they have in place that actually works. We know the warning system on Phuket has never worked, they also have no evacuation procedure in place. As for 40 seismometers throughout the Kingdom, we know from the past, that many are lost and/or do not work.

Owned and maintained by National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), Thailand

STB - SAIC Tsunami Buoy

DART II payload

8.905 N 88.537 E (8°54'17" N 88°32'13" E)

New buoy/bpr deployed 1/30/14.

I hope they are working........

[Rorri]

What warning system do they have in place that actually works. We know the warning system on Phuket has never worked, they also have no evacuation procedure in place. As for 40 seismometers throughout the Kingdom, we know from the past, that many are lost and/or do not work.

Owned and maintained by National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), Thailand

STB - SAIC Tsunami Buoy

DART II payload

8.905 N 88.537 E (8°54'17" N 88°32'13" E)

New buoy/bpr deployed 1/30/14.

I hope they are working........

I recall that the replacement buoy was for one that went "missing", they also mentioned that some had flat batteries, due to no maintenance, but more worrying was they had not paid the leasing fees for the necessary satellite link, rendering any working buoys useless.

[sawadee1947]

What warning system do they have in place that actually works. We know the warning system on Phuket has never worked, they also have no evacuation procedure in place. As for 40 seismometers throughout the Kingdom, we know from the past, that many are lost and/or do not work.

Owned and maintained by National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC), Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), Thailand

STB - SAIC Tsunami Buoy

DART II payload

8.905 N 88.537 E (8°54'17" N 88°32'13" E)

New buoy/bpr deployed 1/30/14.

I hope they are working........

I recall that the replacement buoy was for one that went "missing", they also mentioned that some had flat batteries, due to no maintenance, but more worrying was they had not paid the leasing fees for the necessary satellite link, rendering any working buoys useless.

I could remember that after that tsunami some EU countries supplied Thailand with those buoys. Unfortunately the instructions were not in Thai language......