The authorities of the resort island of Phuket, which recently experienced a “demo version” of a tsunami (details here), have announced that they are fully prepared to respond to a real tsunami that is expected in Thailand after a cycle of 30 underwater earthquakes off the coast of the Nicobar Islands (India), located about 5 northwest of tropical Phuket. The relevant statement was made by the head of the local Ministry of Emergency Situations on July 5.
As of July 5, 17 underwater shocks with a magnitude of 4.1 to 5.1 were recorded in 24 hours. The underwater earthquakes reported by the non-governmental Phuket Earthquake Monitoring and Observation Center occurred mainly in areas 400-550 km northwest of the popular island of Phuket. Moreover, seismologists reported that many earthquakes occurred at a relatively shallow depth – only 10 km away.
A wave of earthquakes in the region has caused tourists and residents to fear a tsunami approaching the resorts. Here is the comment of the head of the Phuket Ministry of Emergency Situations: “We are ready for such incidents. We have 19 signal towers across the island that we check while playing the National Anthem at 8 am every Wednesday. In the case of NP, we will be able to send warning signals to those living in coastal areas with announcements in five languages, including Thai, English, Chinese, and Russian. We also have designated evacuation routes (from tsunami hazard areas) that are regularly checked. We have recently updated the evacuation route signs to inform tourists of the location of safety points in different areas of the island. On July 20, Thalang (an area in the north of Phuket) will hold a tsunami evacuation drill so that relevant agencies can prepare and be ready to respond in such a situation.”
Although this time, the natural destructive force is not expected to be as powerful as it was in 2004, it can still be deadly. To prevent the tourism paradise from turning into a living hell, the official urged everyone to keep a close eye on reports on all public safety issues, including news about earthquakes in the Nicobar Islands and weather reports.
We will remind you that the most destructive tsunami in modern history, which swept along the coastal strip of the Indian Ocean, happened almost 18 years ago (2004). In one hour, the elements took the lives of six thousand people in the resorts of southern Thailand. More than half of the dead were foreign tourists, including Ukrainians. At that time, Phuket became the center for the relief of survivors and the center for the identification of the dead in all the surrounding provinces.