PHUKET: A tsunami practice drill planned for the tenth anniversary of the 2004 tsunami on Phuket has been replaced by a seminar on the holiday island's capacity to carry out an evacuation in the event of another big wave.
The seminar will be held on December 26, the Phuket Director of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Santhawat Riwleung, said today.
He added that the Director of the National Warning Centre, Group Captain Somsak Khaosuwan, met with Phuket's governor yesterday. The group captain said he had been assured that Phuket's beachfront tsunami warning towers were all working.
Doubts have been expressed about holding a tsunami drill that would be too immediate a reminder to the families of victims, who are expected on the Andaman coast in large numbers for the significant tenth anniversary.
Plans for Phuket ceremonies in Patong, Rawai and Kamala on December 25 also appear to have been replaced, with three days of events in Phuket and Phang Nga now reduced to ceremonies on December 26 and 27.
Phuketwan learned today that the Tsunami Victim Cemetery north of Phuket is being converted into a war-graves style memorial with lawns and a new look, but possibly not grassed in time for the tenth anniversary commemorations.
The manager of the cemetery at Baan Bang Maruan, Nitinai Sornsongkram, told Phuketwan today that police stations in the surrounding province of Phang Nga, which was badly hit by the tsunami, would share responsibility for making sure the cemetery was kept neat and presentable.
The markers that were the only ID for the special graves that contain the remains of 388 unidentified tsunami victims have been temporarily removed, but Khun Nitinai has a ground plan that will enable workers to accurately return markers to the right graves.
Each of the nameless dead has been buried in a metal coffin within a concrete tomb, the best means of preserving DNA in case identification becomes possible in years to come.
Meanwhile, foreign camera crews have been encountered all along the coast, interviewing survivors and recapturing the effects of the tsunami for television ''specials'' around the world timed for around December 26.
The Foreign Ministry is preparing for intense international attention on December 26-27, organising information for media worldwide.
Journalists are being told that the commemoration will be for:
1) Remembering those who lost their lives and showing support to those who survived;
2) Expressing appreciation to those who helped Thailand in difficult times;
3) Showing the regeneration of communities affected by the tsunami; and
4) Raising public awareness and confidence in Thailand's effective early warning systems and disaster preparedness.
According to the ministry, the remembrance ceremony on December 26 will be marked by speeches and poetry reading, wreath laying, observance of silence, ending with a candle-light memorial ceremony.
On December 27 there will be trips (for voluntary participation) to two local communities which have survived the tsunami and returned to normal life ever stronger.
Nearly 5400 people were killed in Thailand by the big wave, approximately half of them Thais and the other half tourists and Burmese workers.
The toll is often wrongly reported as 8000 because, as victims were identified by Thai Tsunami Victim Identification unit, other government departments neglected to reduce the toll of ''missing.''
Around the Indian Ocean in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Africa, a total of about 240,000 people were killed.
The seminar will be held on December 26, the Phuket Director of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Santhawat Riwleung, said today.
He added that the Director of the National Warning Centre, Group Captain Somsak Khaosuwan, met with Phuket's governor yesterday. The group captain said he had been assured that Phuket's beachfront tsunami warning towers were all working.
Doubts have been expressed about holding a tsunami drill that would be too immediate a reminder to the families of victims, who are expected on the Andaman coast in large numbers for the significant tenth anniversary.
Plans for Phuket ceremonies in Patong, Rawai and Kamala on December 25 also appear to have been replaced, with three days of events in Phuket and Phang Nga now reduced to ceremonies on December 26 and 27.
Phuketwan learned today that the Tsunami Victim Cemetery north of Phuket is being converted into a war-graves style memorial with lawns and a new look, but possibly not grassed in time for the tenth anniversary commemorations.
The manager of the cemetery at Baan Bang Maruan, Nitinai Sornsongkram, told Phuketwan today that police stations in the surrounding province of Phang Nga, which was badly hit by the tsunami, would share responsibility for making sure the cemetery was kept neat and presentable.
The markers that were the only ID for the special graves that contain the remains of 388 unidentified tsunami victims have been temporarily removed, but Khun Nitinai has a ground plan that will enable workers to accurately return markers to the right graves.
Each of the nameless dead has been buried in a metal coffin within a concrete tomb, the best means of preserving DNA in case identification becomes possible in years to come.
Meanwhile, foreign camera crews have been encountered all along the coast, interviewing survivors and recapturing the effects of the tsunami for television ''specials'' around the world timed for around December 26.
The Foreign Ministry is preparing for intense international attention on December 26-27, organising information for media worldwide.
Journalists are being told that the commemoration will be for:
1) Remembering those who lost their lives and showing support to those who survived;
2) Expressing appreciation to those who helped Thailand in difficult times;
3) Showing the regeneration of communities affected by the tsunami; and
4) Raising public awareness and confidence in Thailand's effective early warning systems and disaster preparedness.
According to the ministry, the remembrance ceremony on December 26 will be marked by speeches and poetry reading, wreath laying, observance of silence, ending with a candle-light memorial ceremony.
On December 27 there will be trips (for voluntary participation) to two local communities which have survived the tsunami and returned to normal life ever stronger.
Nearly 5400 people were killed in Thailand by the big wave, approximately half of them Thais and the other half tourists and Burmese workers.
The toll is often wrongly reported as 8000 because, as victims were identified by Thai Tsunami Victim Identification unit, other government departments neglected to reduce the toll of ''missing.''
Around the Indian Ocean in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Africa, a total of about 240,000 people were killed.
