Andaman provinces to ramp up disaster planning
Ms Theerarat issued the directive after meeting the governors and officials from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), the Department of Mineral Resources and the Meteorological Department in Bangkok to discuss earthquake and tsunami preparedness for the Andaman coastal region.
She said the government has taken note of public concerns about the possibility of another tsunami, after recent reports about a series of earthquakes in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
To ensure public safety, she said provinces located on the Andaman coast must allocate enough budget, human resources and equipment to help deal with the aftermath of a disaster.
Evacuation routes and directions to shelters must also be regularly updated to reflect newer developments and clearly signposted, she said, before adding disaster preparedness drills must be routinely organised to help ensure local residents are ready when a disaster strikes.
DDPM was also instructed to ensure its earthquake alert system is operational 24 hours a day, and that the system receives accurate information from seismographs in earthquake-prone areas.
"Equipment deficiencies must not be used as an excuse to explain disaster alert failures," she said.
The Public Relations Department, meanwhile, was instructed to ensure that the public gets the correct information in emergencies, which Ms Theerarat said is key to preventing panic, especially in disaster-prone areas.
When asked about the recent earthquakes detected in waters off the coast of Thailand, Sumet Saithong, the deputy director of the Department of Mineral Resources, said the latest tremors were different from the one in 2004.
"These quakes were minor and didn't displace much seawater," he said.
DDPM director-general, Phasakorn Boonyalak, said overland quakes with a magnitude of 2.5 and over will trigger the department's alert system. Undersea quakes, meanwhile, will be picked up by the system if they have a magnitude of 5.0 or more. The nation's cell broadcast warning system will send out alerts for overland quakes measuring M4 and over, and M6 and over for submarine quakes, he noted.
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