At a review meeting held after the the drill, which started at 10am with the sirens sounding the alarm at four locations in Kamala, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket office Chief Sophon Thongsai explained that the main purpose of the drill was to check the readiness of the warning sirens as well as the readiness of local people in responding to alarm.
The simulation itself involved officers being notified of an 8.5-Magnitude underwater earthquake striking some 10 kilometers deep northeast of Great Nicobar Island, an island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands archipelago located some 200km west of Phuket.
Phuket Vice Governor Wongsakorn Nunchukan has praised the exercise generally as a success.
However, while V/Gov Wongsakorn noted that the warning tower behind Kamala Police Station sounded the warning loudly, he also pointed out that the speakers in the tower near Samnaksong Charoentham* were not loud and needed repair.
Mr Sopohon pointed out that the towers and their equipment had been in use “for quite some time”.
“We will inform the DDPM headquarters [in Bangkok] about the broken speakers and other equipment so they can be repaired,” he said.
V/Gov Wongsakorn said, “The overall result of the drill was good, due to the participation from teachers, students, officers and local people. They were ready and followed the plan we made very well.
“It is good that people in risk areas are aware and know what to do when a disaster happens, in order to prevent losing loved ones.”
* A samnaksong is a “probationary” Buddhist temple compound, usually of less than two rai in area. It is a place of Buddhist worship, but not a designated as a “wat”.
Kurt | 11 September 2020 - 16:15:49