Thailand To Install First Tsunami Detection System In Indian Ocean

[Jai Dee]

Thailand to install first tsunami detection system in Indian Ocean

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP): Thailand plans to install the region's first tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean basin in the coming weeks, nearly two years after the Dec. 26, 2004, disaster that killed at least 216,000 people around the region, an official said Thursday.

Thai and American authorities, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will work together to install the U.S.-made, high-tech network of sensors and buoys called the Deep Sea Tsunami Detection Equipment-2, or DART-2, said Smith Thammararoj, head of Thailand's Tsunami Detection Center.

A team is scheduled to set out from Phuket island on Nov. 28 to install the system about 600 sea miles (1,100 kilometers) off of Thailand's Andaman coast near the Nicobar Islands, Smith said.

A similar system, DART-1, already links 26 Pacific Ocean nations. If it had been expanded to the Indian Ocean coastal countries, authorities might have been able to sound a warning before the deadly disaster of 2004.

"This kind of tsunami detection equipment is first to be installed in Indian Ocean, where it could save the lives of more than two billion people,'' Smith said.

Source: Associated Press - 16 November 2006

[Scott]

Glad to hear there is some movement on this.

[womble]

India are already instaling one by Andaman Islands.

India are pretty good when it comes to technical stuff these days.

I think the Indians will be first to the post.

[astral]

India are already instaling one by Andaman Islands.

India are pretty good when it comes to technical stuff these days.

I think the Indians will be first to the post.

No great surprise there.

I hope the Thais do not grab the credit.

[Old Man River]

It is great to have the technical equipment in place, but the real issue is having the people who get the warnings willing to make the tough decision to clear the beaches. I have great respect for Khun Samith, but unfortunately it isn't possible to have him sitting in front of the warning system 24 hours a day.

[george]

Tsunami early-warning buoys to deploy from Phuket

PHUKET CITY: -- Thailand’s tsunami early-warning system will take a big step forward this month, when a high-tech monitoring buoy able to directly detect tsunami waves will be deployed about 1,100 kilometers off the Andaman Coast, near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The announcement came during a meeting on disaster preparedness in the six tsunami-affected provinces held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel yesterday.

The buoy, the first of its kind in the Andaman Sea, will be linked via satellite to the existing network of some 80 tsunami warning towers already built in the six tsunami-hit provinces. It is expected to provide valuable lead time in warning coastal residents of an approaching tsunami.

It will use US-made Deep Sea Tsunami Detection Equipment-2 (DART-2) technology. Similar technology has long been used as part of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The buoy is the first of two to be provided by the US government as part of its two-year, US$16.6-million contribution of equipment and expertise. They will eventually form part of a network of buoys forming part of an Indian Ocean tsunami early-warning system by NOAA.

Currently, the warning towers can be activated only following orders from NDWC headquarters in Nonthaburi. Researchers there must first obtain seismic data from earthquake activity in the region, then make an educated guess about the likelihood of a tsunami.

The last time the NDWC issued a tsunami warning was on March 28, 2005, following an 8.3-magnitude earthquake in Sumatra. The warning, which caused panic in Patong and other parts of Phuket, turned out to be a false alarm.

Dr Smith Thammasaroj, Director of National Disaster Warning Center, said that the buoy will be donated by the US Government, but added that the Thai government must pay an estimated 36 million b aht in maintenance costs over the buoy’s two-year life span.

Once the buoy is operational, he said, it will be handed over to the Meteorological Department because the NDWC faces staff and funding shortages following the change in national government.

He criticized the government for suspending the NDWC’s 300-million-baht plan to install 144 remaining disaster-warning towers in 57 provinces in the North, Northeast and Central region.

Smith had earlier vowed to quit his post if the self-appointed Council for National Security continues to ignore the nationwide warning tower project.

The NDWC would be able to maintain the buoy only if its status were changed to that of an independent public agency, he added.

The DART-2 buoy will be launched from a research vessel that will leave the Phuket Marine Biological Center pier at Cape Panwa on November 28. There will be a full day of ceremonies starting at 8:30 am to bid bon voyage to the vessel, whi ch is expected to return within a week.

--Phuket Gazette 2006-11-16

[Dakhar]

Yep, I have seen photos of it. It consists of a 5 gallon bucket, some string and a brick tied at the end of the string.

When there is a violent wave, the force generated causes the bucket to rise quickly, thus snapping the string.... the bucket then pops up, and rises to the top of the surface.

The bucket is now set free, when it reaches shore, someone will eventually pick it up, and call the phone number printed on the bucket. There is a message on the bucket that says.

Ef fund pleez cull imeditle ....

Any how, extensive research has found this method of a warning system to be highly effective and cost efficient. Thailand's academic society has deemed this system to be affordable and essentially fool proof.

Edited November 16, 2006 by Dakhar

[PhilHarries]

Obviously a very important safety system that should give confidence to locals and tourists alike. However ther are a few points to be considered.

It's all very well having this rinky dinky warning system but, as shown in recent false alarms, it's no bluddy good if the roads jam solid and the populace can't escape. It's probably OK for those in multi-story buildings provided the wave isn't big enough to collapse them. But what about ground level dwellings, their occupants, street traders, tourists out for a walk or lying on the beach etc.

The installation, operation and maintenance of the system and ongoing long term training, practice drills need to have procedures in place sooner rather than later. There needs to be plenty of signs around the low lying coastal areas advising people what to do in the event of an alarm and their best escape route to hight ground. Signs that stay clearly visible and do not get overgrown or obstructed by Noi's noodle stall.

The personnel manning the system from top to bottom have to be very professional, dedicated individuals. Not like the security on my estate which started off with about six uniformed guards and deteriorated into one shabby guy providing "24 hour" security and doing parallel odd jobs.

The boxing day tsunami is the only one in living memory for the area and lets hope it stays that way but just consider the scenes had it struck 9pm when it's dark and hence no visual warning.

Sure I am guilty of casting nasturtiums and negative vibes but we know too well, not just in Thailand but world wide, how blase people can get over safety "Don't worry about it, it'll never happen. Excuse me, where's all this 'kin' water coming from?"