Khao Lak beach in Thailand (Source: Reuters)Hanoi (VNA) – Up to 80 percent of Thailand’s tsunami warning system needs maintenance work after more than 10 years of working, the country’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said on July 31.
The department’s report showed that around 2,000 devices of the system need to be taken care of.
The country is checking and replacing necessary pieces, especially in the southern region where many tourist sites locate.
At present, the warning system is still working well, said Prasert Kunneang, public relations officer at the National Disaster Warning Center in Bangkok.
The other forms of communication will be used to warn people about a tsunami while the equipment undergoes maintenance, Prasert added.
Thailand’s disaster warning system was put into operation in 2006, two years after a 9.15 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia on December 26, 2004 and triggered a massive tsunami that caused large scaled destruction and loss of life throughout the Indian Ocean.
Popular tourist destination Thailand was among the worst affected, along with Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. Many of the 5,395 people killed in Thailand were foreign tourists holidaying along the shores of its idyllic islands and beaches.-VNA
VNA
