Multi-billion baht early warning centre fails to instil confidence

NATURAL DISASTER / THREE YEARS AFTER, RECONSTRUCTION CONTINUES

Multi-billion baht early warning centre fails to instil confidence

APINYA WIPATAYOTIN

Phangnga and Phuket _ A multi-billion-baht project to equip coastal communities with an effective early warning system has not helped bolster the confidence of villagers in Ban Nam Khem, one of the locations hardest hit by the tsunami three years ago.

Prayul Jongkraichak, deputy chief of the Ban Nam Khem Community's Disaster Prevention Centre in Phangnga's Takua Pa district, said villagers were not yet fully confident in the system run by the National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC).

Two towers were not enough to ensure villagers will be safe if the area is struck by another disaster, he said.

Even Banlue Choosin, 42, a fisherman and volunteer monitoring the sea level for the centre, acknowledged that the warning system in the village was problematic.

''If there is a tsunami, we'll have to depend on ourselves because the sound of the alarm put out by the two towers in our community is not loud enough to reach all the areas, especially the beach,'' he said.

Mr Banlue has been asked to check the sea level for the local centre if an earthquake is reported in the Indian Ocean, so people could be moved to safer and higher areas within 20 minutes if the area is in danger of being hit by giant waves.

Instead of relying only on technology, the villagers now believe that there will be some unusual warning signs from nature before such a tsunami strikes again.

A year before the tsunami struck, many fishermen in the area said they noticed some unusual events in the sea but never took them seriously.

They noticed unusual flows of sea water and an increase in the number of marine species, including the arrival of those which had never been seen in Thai waters before.

On the morning of Dec 26, 2004 birds in the area fell silent, which was also abnormal.

Vimonrat Areewechsrimongkol, a secretary at the La Flora Hotel in Khao Lak, said the hotel has installed its own early warning system to ensure the safety of guests.

She said the hotel has been equipped with a system able to detect any unusual drop in the sea level.

The alarm will go off automatically, alerting tourists that they should move to safer zones.

In addition, the NDWC would immediately send a warning message to the hotel in the event an urgent evacuation was needed.

''As the hotel took a terrible hit from the tsunami, we have come up with the best measures possible to save our guests and reputation in future.

''We don't want to see a repeat of the tragedy,'' she said.

''All the staff members have been trained in how to help guests reach safer places quickly,'' she said.

All the websites set up to issue earthquake warnings can be accessed by the hotel staff.

The interim government recently approved more than 150 million baht for the installation of two ocean monitoring buoys around the Nicobar Islands, where the tsunami risk is the highest.

Chairat Sukkaban, deputy mayor of the Patong Municipality in Phuket, said the early warning system was an effective instrument, but more towers were needed in Phuket.

The resort island wants to see three more warning towers set up so that the system can cover all the areas, according to Mr Chairat.

He said new regulations for hotels would be issued, forcing them to link directly with the NDWC so the alarm could immediately warn hotel guests to move to higher ground.