UN Thailand :: Media Monitoring

Impact on Thailand

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Six Months On

Challenges and achievements six months after the tsunami

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Sources: Bangkok Post, MCOT, ThaisNews and The Nation

11 October 2005:

Senator wants 1-3 'tsunameters' installed in Indonesian waters
Thailand should install tsunameters in deep ocean areas close to fault lines in Indonesian waters that could generate future tidal waves in this region so that it will have more hours to send out disaster warnings and prepare for evacuations, Senate tourism committee chairman Suradet Yasawat said. His comment contrasted with the suggestion of the National Disaster Warning Centre which had advised that it would be enough if tsunami-warning devices were installed in Thai territorial waters in the Andaman Sea. Jakarta would be willing to share tsunameters with Thailand and help maintain them.

12 October 2005:

Journal of hope from tragedy of the tsunami to attract crowds
A 3.2-metre by 4.5-metre tsunami commemorative comic book called "Kwamwang Lang Mahantapai Tsunami" (Hope after the Tsunami Disaster) will be displayed in Phang Nga to mark the first anniversary of the tsunami. The 49 page giant book will comprise illustrations, photographs and information on the tsunami. About 50,000 scaled-down copies of the book will be published for sale in both Thai and English.

12 October 2005:

More than one hundred houses are yet to be complete in Krabi
Only 144 of 268 homes constructed for displaced tsunami victims in Krabi have been completed. The rest were expected to finish by year's end. None of the finished houses are found to have structural problems; however occupants must complete the mandatory house registration process before they can be provided with water.

12 October 2005:

Tsunami warning system on par with international standards will improve confidence among tourists
The first 12 of 62 warning towers are expected to be completed in Nov while another 12 by the first anniversary of the disaster. The remaining 38 towers are expected to be fully installed by March 2006. The towers will be linked to 12 warning stations that will receive signals via satellite. Maps and signs showing tsunami escape trails will be available by Nov 15.

13 October 2005:

New site eyed for tsunami monument
A new site may need to be found for the planned tsunami memorial and museum in Phang Nga, DPM Suwat Liptapanlop said. The memorial was originally to be built on a 20-rai block of land which is part of an abandoned rubber plantation in Khao Lak Lam Lu National Park. However, the site is next to a 30-rai block of private land which could be commercially developed in the future. If that happened, it would go against the purpose of the memorial.

14 October 2005:

Phuket's DVI centre to close on Dec 26
The Phuket-based Disaster Victims Identification Centre (DVI) will move to Bangkok after its centre in Phuket shuts down. 1358 unclaimed corpses would be kept at a morgue in Phang Nga. Authorities, meanwhile, plan to launch a door-to-door project aimed at contacting relatives of victims of the Dec 26 tsunami for them to provide corpse identification officials all possible evidence of the identity of missing family members.

14 October 2005:

Handbook for wave victims to aid trauma
The Department of Mental Health is working on producing a handbook to help tsunami victims cope with psychological wounds. The handbook comprises the definition and psychological effects of disasters; intervention and assistance; management; communications and public relations; and potential development.