Khao Lak beach in Thailand (Source: Reuters)Hanoi (VNA) – Up to 80 percent of Thailand’s tsunami warning system needsmaintenance work after more than 10 years of working, the country’s Departmentof Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said on July 31.
Thedepartment’s report showed that around 2,000 devices of the system need to betaken care of.
Thecountry is checking and replacing necessary pieces, especially in the southernregion where many tourist sites locate.
Atpresent, the warning system is still working well, said Prasert Kunneang,public relations officer at the National Disaster Warning Center in Bangkok.
Theother forms of communication will be used to warn people about a tsunami whilethe equipment undergoes maintenance, Prasert added.
Thailand’sdisaster warning system was put into operation in 2006, two years after a 9.15magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia on December26, 2004 and triggered a massive tsunami that caused large scaled destructionand loss of life throughout the Indian Ocean.
Populartourist destination Thailand was among the worst affected, along withIndonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Many of the 5,395 people killed in Thailandwere foreign tourists holidaying along the shores of its idyllic islands andbeaches.-VNA
VNA
