Phuket “night tsunami’ drill update
PHUKET: The center of operations for Phuket’s first “night tsunami” drill will be at the Rajaprachanukroh 36 School in Kamala.
The drill, to be held on December 14, will begin at 8pm.
The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has confirmed that more than 200 volunteers will take part, and Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha will preside over the exercise.
To sound the alarm on the night, the DDPM will use the same warning used by the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) tsunami warning towers, but it will be sounded through speakers at the school only, and not through the NDWC towers on the beach.
The school, built after the 2004 tsunami, is about 100 meters from the beachfront.
Once the alarm is sounded, about 180 school students as well as people living or operating businesses nearby will move to the highest levels of the school buildings.
DDPM officers and emergency medical treatment teams will then search the area for simulated victims and report to the control center at the school.
The “night tsunami” exercise comes before a full-scale marine rescue and patient evacuation drill at Saphan Hin and Phuket International Airport on December 24.
— Atchaa Khamlo
