Tsunami drill at Bang Tao

PHUKET CITY: A tsunami evacuation drill will be held at Bang Tao Beach on June 17, Chotenarin Kerdsom, chief of the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), has told the Gazette.

“All the commanding officers involved in the drill will meet at Laguna Beach Resort on June 16.

“Then, from 9 am to midday on June 17, we will have a tsunami evacuation drill,” K. Chotenarin said.

“I have asked the National Disaster Warning Center [NDWC] to sound the tsunami alarms on June 17, but we are still waiting for their confirmation,” he said.

However, K. Chotenarin explained that the June 17 evacuation drill will go ahead regardless of whether the tsunami warning towers sound the alarm.

He asked the media to announce the drill so that locals and tourists in the area can take part and will not be alarmed by people evacuating the beach.

K. Chotenarin added that the NDWC will hold a simultaneous test on July 7 of all its tsunami-warning towers throughout the six Andaman provinces – Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang and Satun.