Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center

(22/08/2012)

Thailand’s National Disaster Warning Center attaches great importance to warning drills for disaster preparedness and management, in accordance with established standard operation procedures. Emphasis is placed on providing knowledge on the disaster warning system in vulnerable areas, as well as crisis communication management and the creation of networks in civil society organizations. Following the tragic tsunami incident that took place in the Indian Ocean on 26 December 2004 and caused huge damage to Andaman coastal provinces in Thailand, the Thai government took immediate action to establish a National Disaster Early Warning System. Later, on 30 May 2005, the National Disaster Warning Center was officially opened and located on Rattanathibet Road in Nonthaburi province. Today the National Disaster Warning Center is situated on Sukhumvit Road in the Bang Na area of Bangkok and is under the supervision of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. It is responsible for disseminating warning messages on all kinds of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, floods, landslides, drought, and forest fires. The center also provides officials and the general public with knowledge on emergency response, conducts warning and evacuation drills with related agencies, and analyzes the severity of natural disasters in order to provide information to agencies responsible for dealing with disasters. These efforts are intended to alert people quickly about the possibility of natural disasters and reduce the country’s vulnerability with appropriate measures and preparedness. For instance, the center will give data on earthquakes and tsunamis, concerning what areas may be hit and what time the waves are expected to arrive. Sources in the country come from the Meteorological Department, the Department of Mineral Resources, Hydrographic Department, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the Royal Irrigation Department, the Pollution Control Department, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, the Royal Forest Department, and the National Park, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation Department. Input from international organizations comes from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, the Japan Meteorological Agency, the United States Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the European-Meteorological and Seismological Center, the Malaysian Meteorological Service, the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, the German Research Center for Geosciences, and the Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System. As its tools of dissemination, the National Disaster Warning Center links with such networks as SMS, fax, e-mail, television, radio, emergency call centers, and warning towers across the country.