No takers for tsunami early warning system

By Achadtaya Chuenniran

Phuket

Not a single hotel in Phuket province has hooked up with the satellite-based signal receiving system because they do not trust its efficiency, and because of the cost - more than 400,000 baht, or about $13,000.

Provincial authorities have met local hoteliers twice, urging them to install tsunami early warning system gear so they can get the early warning signal directly from the Nonthaburi-based National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC), which relays the warning via the satellite.

So far, no hotel has installed the equipment.

Phuket governor Niran Kalayanamit said hotel operators are probably convinced that they can depend solely on the tsunami warning towers built by the province. "They shouldn't think installing the satellite signal receiver was unnecessary."

The province has 19 tsunami early-warning towers.

Arun Kerdsom, Phuket's disaster prevention and mitigation chief, said hotel operators had complained about the high cost - 400,000-500,000 baht - to install the equipment, a figure disaster officials dispute.

"At first, we hoped to see at least five hotels invest in the devices under a pilot project. But that did not happen. Not a single hotel in Phuket has shown any interest in hooking up so far.

"Of the hotels in six southern provinces along the Andaman coastline, only one in Phangnga province has connected to the system," said Mr Arun.

The province is trying to come up with other tsunami warning methods as well. It could provide pagers to communities to receive tsunami warning signals, he said.

However, Smith Dharmasarojana, chairman of the National Disaster Warning Administration Committee, said every hotel in a tsunami-prone coastal area should install the satellite signal receiver.

He said the receiver would be connected to the hotel's fire alarm system, which would ring the alarm as soon as it received a warning signal.

"Hotel operators should not rely solely on the tsunami warning towers because guests will not hear the warning sound if they are in their hotel rooms. If the signal is sent through the fire alarm system, everybody will hear it," said Mr Smith.

He said each device costs 200,000 baht, not 400,000-500,000 baht as the hoteliers claim.

Krissada Tansakul, chairman of the Patong Hotels Operators Association in Phuket, admitted that none of the hotels, some 100 of them, along the famous Patong beach, had installed the equipment because they were not confident in the NDWC's early warning system.

Hoteliers were still haunted by a false alarm activated by the centre in 2005, when thousands of tourists and villagers ran for their life after hearing the tsunami siren.

"We will install the device only after the state disaster warning system is fully developed," said Mr Krissada. "The equipment is costly and we want to make sure that it is worth the investment."

At the moment hotel operators in Phuket are relying on a "manual warning system", he said.

"Our staff will activate the in-house emergency alarm as soon as they hear the warning sirens from the tsunami warning towers. All the guests will be safe from the tsunami this way," he said.

Bangkok Post

Saturday March 31, 2007