Tsunami alert system 'broken'

News > Local News

Published: 27/12/2011 at 01:05 AM
Online news: Local News

Andaman coastal provinces in the South held tsunami remembrance ceremonies on Monday to mark the seventh anniversary of the Dec 26, 2004 disaster that killed more than 5,000 persons, many of them foreign tourists.

But alongside the remembrance events, a report by the German news agency dpa caused concern, when respected meteorologist Smith Dharmasaroja warned that the tsunami warning system was essentially broken, and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra agreed that disaster prevention needed a lot of work.Another tsunami would be hard to detect in southern Thailand now, said Mr Smith."There was a regional tsunami warning system in place six years ago but now it doesn’t work," dpa quoted Mr Smith, who warned the government about the risk of a tsunami striking the country years before.Mr Smith, who was appointed chairman of the National Disaster Warning Administration in 2005 and assigned to put a warning system in place, said the system was no longer functioning properly. Warning buoys placed off Phuket in 2005 have not functioned reliably from a lack of replacement parts, he said."Even some of the warning towers don't work," said Mr Smith, who was attending a memorial service in Phuket when he talked to the dpa reporter."Just (Sunday) big waves hit the eastern coast of Thailand, flooding many houses, and there were no warnings of that storm," Mr Smith said.Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra acknowledged on Sunday that the country's disaster warning system needed to be improved."Our early warning system is still imperfect," Ms Yingluck said. "We need to improve our efficiency." In Phuket, multi-faith ceremonies of Buddhists, Christians and Muslims were held at Mai Khao...

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hillfarang
Post : 875
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Discussion 8 : 27/12/2011 at 05:15 PM8
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YES... many time I listed repair & maintenance as a VITAL part of the flood controls as well.

Here's the challenge: long term.
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macmundi
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Discussion 7 : 27/12/2011 at 02:03 PM7
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Like everything else, Thailand spends millions and billions in installations as preventive measures AFTER every disaster. After of which they are not maintained and at last neglected. Wasted sources wasted words.
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saparod
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Discussion 6 : 27/12/2011 at 01:59 PM6
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@visiting: (Discussion 2:)
100% correct and very true!
All electric wires at the Tsunami alarm towers are stolen every year and this is only discovered around 22-26 December, even those towers are on public beaches close to police boxes etc.
Our system is the problem.... Ops sorry, i mean the lack there is no system and no will to create, implement and check on systems!
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drsmith
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Discussion 5 : 27/12/2011 at 11:23 AM5
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There is no money to be maintained so those in charge could care less about it. Human loss of life is worth nothing to these officials who won't do anything if there isn't any money attached to it. That is the truth and there is simply no excuse in the world for not maintaining this system. In any other country those in charge of this system failure would have been fired long ago
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Victor
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Discussion 4 : 27/12/2011 at 08:10 AM4
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The only reliable warning system is to look for the sign made by the Morgan sea people. When they start to move away from the shore then it is time for us to run.
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lookmoo
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Discussion 3 : 27/12/2011 at 08:00 AM3
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D1: sorry for braking the bad news, but it don't matter very much. There are no way the administration could evacuate a million people at risk in 30 minutes. And IF this happens in the middle of the night they are probably better of on the second floor than running around in the dark streets.

The core of the problem is that resorts are built in the wrong place with the wrong technology in a poor way.

Thailand must learn that the only way to avoid this kind of problems is to do the right thing from start. Winston Churchill once said "the American usually do the right thing, but only after tried all other options". And so do the Thais.
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visiting
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Discussion 2 : 27/12/2011 at 07:03 AM2
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"Our early warning system is still imperfect," Ms Yingluck said. "We need to improve our efficiency."

PM: You can't save face when you're five meters underwater. It is not about the 'efficiency' of the system. It is about the functionality. First, it must work (at even a basic level). Second, you must make sure it ALWAYS works (even at a basic level). THEN you can start worrying about efficinecy and cost and all tha tother stuff.

But drowned is drowned.
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franklin
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Discussion 1 : 27/12/2011 at 02:13 AM1
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Had the German news agency not reported the facts, it would not be known that the tsunami alert system is ‘broken’. The concept of upkeep and maintenance has not yet taken hold in Thailand. From condominiums that are built, sold and then neglected to clogged and unclean water canals to military machinery that breaks down due to unavailable parts and neglect, nobody can accuse Thailand of placing much value on maintenance. Like the mismanaged dams that contributed to the floods, had there been another tsunami, the mismanaged early warning system would have serves little purpose.
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Tsunami alert system 'broken' | Bangkok Post: news