The Andaman tsunami hit on Dec 26, 2004, leaving more than 5,000 people dead in Thailand, particularly in Phangnga and Phuket provinces. Shortly after, the Thai government began developing a warning system to prevent a repeat of such a tragedy.
A German man who lost his son in the 2004 tsunami attaches a name tag to the Tsunami Memorial in Ban Nam Khem in Phangnga's Takua Pa district to mark the 10th anniversary of the disaster. Patipat Janthong
But 10 years on, questions are being raised over whether the system is being properly maintained.
The government set up the National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) in May 2005. The centre was told to develop a well-managed warning system.
Staff in charge of the NDWC warning system carry out daily preparations on how to manage crises arising from various natural disaster scenarios that may affect the country.
"We have never stopped working from the first day the centre opened," said Song Ekmahachai, acting chief of NDWC's Warning and Dissemination division. "An SMS message would be sent to the prime minister, state authorities and coastal community leaders within one minute if there was a tsunami warning to the country."
Gp Capt Song said the NDWC is working closely with international earthquake centres to monitor quake information and possible tsunami threats.
It would take between 30 minutes to one hour to verify if a tsunami was going to hit the country. A warning message would then be disseminated via television and radio stations.
The government has built 129 disaster warning towers in Andaman coastal areas, which can send warning evacuation signals to locals within a range of four kilometres.
Since 2004, the centre has sent five tsunami warnings. The latest was in April two years ago, when a 8.6-magnitude quake rocked Indonesia.
The United States has developed a surface buoy device, which sends data to tsunami warning centres. The buoy is deployed close to Indonesian waters and sends signals to the NDWC, among other centres. The Thai government also has two of its own buoys, which were deployed not far from the US device and used to send signals to the NDWC.
"Unfortunately, a rental contact on the satellite channel for the buoys' signal submission expired last year, so they are now out of action," Gp Capt Song said.
Due to the political turmoil, no budget has been allocated for the work. The two buoys cost around 70 million baht to maintain over the space of a two-year contract. NDWC director Gp Capt Somsak Khaosuwan said he has asked for government approval to buy two new buoys, which would be located in Thai waters.
The centre is seeking 260 million baht for the 2015 fiscal year, to pay for an extra 40 disaster warning towers and computer systems improvement. It will also seek one billion baht for the 2016 fiscal year for warning systems development, including the two new buoys. Gp Capt Somsak said the centre is equipped with advanced disaster warning technology, but said it would be useless without public awareness of how to follow warning instructions.
"We cannot only focus on technology, but also have a hard job to do raising people's awareness of the risks and how to follow evacuation instructions. We carry out training every year in risk areas. It might seem boring, but in a real emergency, people will be safe if they follow our instructions," he said.
Wanchai Sakudomchai, chief of the Thai Meteorological Department, said the department plans to boost its capacity by opening another four earthquake censor stations in the West and the South, which are at high risk of disasters resulting from earthquakes. Currently, there are 40 earthquake sensor stations nationwide.
But Maitree Jongkraichak, a leader of Ban Nam Khem community in Phangnga, said many people in vulnerable areas would fail to receive timely warnings if another tsunami hit.
On evacuation training, he said he was disappointed by state agencies, claiming many training sessions have served as an excuse for officials to "showcase" work for their bosses, who visit the drills.
Mr Maitree said that beneath the surface, the evacuations campaign is unsustainable and inconsistent. "State agencies have not yet expanded the training to cover all high-risk areas. Government should provide more support and encourage local communities to develop their own evacuation training, since self-reliance is the best solution in disaster management," he said.