Ranong quake rumor denied
PHUKET: The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has denied rumors of a major earthquake in the Ranong area.
Rumors circulating today stated that a quake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale took place near Ranong this morning.
But Patrawan Tuamlee of the NDWC said that this was not the case. She did say, however, that there had been a slew of temblors in the Andaman Sea, centered around an area some 210 kilometers southeast of Port Blair in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and 300km west of Ranong. The situatioon is being watched closely by the NDWC, she added.
K. Patrawan said that the number of quakes in such a short time – the NWDC claims to have recorded 31 tremors of magnitude 4.1 to 5.3 in the past 48 hours alone – is “abnormal”.
She also asked fishermen and others on the water to report any strange maritime phenomena by calling Tel: 1860.
Chumnong Chitpukdee, Director of the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), told the Gazette, “I have listened to the NDWC reports, and the quakes that have occurred will not affect Phuket”. But, “Our staff are monitoring the situation around the clock”, he added.
