PHUKET has a good system in place to deal with the aftermath of a second tsunami - if it ever comes. Deals and drills established the high quality of Phuket's response today.

For the first time, Phuket held a tsunami drill during Phuket's tourism high season, an acknowledgment that the need for an adequate warning system and suitable follow-up is ever-present.

Phuket remains in a tsunami zone, even though a second big wave on the scale of the 2004 disaster is considered unlikely.

Since the first tsunami struck almost six years ago, there have been those on Phuket and along the Andaman coast who wanted to pretend it was a once-only event and to hope that memories of it would all go away.

Today's drill was a statement to the contrary - that Phuket and the Andaman need to be constantly ready for another tsunami, and to show residents and visitors that they will be safe if a second tsunami does happen to come.

Nobody can predict whether that will happen. And it might never happen. But being prepared if it does happen was the key to today's drill.

Governor Tri Augkaradacha oversaw today's drill, announcing that several large retail organisations had signed an MoU to provide instant relief packages of food and other goods if it did.

Phuket's hospitals have also agreed on a group action-plan in the event of a second tsunami.

What was good to see today was the quality of service in a potential response, and the thought that has clearly gone into coordinating the reaction.

It does not mean that a tsunami is coming anytime soon - although there is no telling when one might come. But it does mean that Phuket appears to be well-prepared if something untoward does happen.

Phuketwan did not note any representatives at the drill today from Phuket resorts, who would have the task of alerting guests and organising their evacuation if a tsunami happened to come at any time, but particularly between the hours of 1am and 6am.

Almost 5400 tourists and residents died when the tsunami struck Phuket and the Andaman coast on December 26, 2004, just a small portion of the 220,000 who perished around the Indian Ocean.

Representatives from Aceh province in Indonesia, where about 160,000 died, were at the drill in Saphan Hin public park in Phuket City today as observers. Phuket has undertaken to support development of Aceh's future preparedness skills.

Tsunami memorial events are to be held early on Sunday in Patong, Kamala and Mai Khao, with other commemorations planned for the neighboring province of Phang Nga, where most of Thailand's deaths occurred.

A second disaster drill is to be held at Phuket International Airport later today.