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First tsunami evacuation drill in Thai School
9 February: The students of a school on Kamala beach in southern Thailand had their first tsunami evacuation drill in early February. The entire town and school were badly hit by the tsunami last year. The students, the teachers, the local community and the district administration organized a practice session in order to be better prepared for any future natural disasters. The drill proved that the teachers could, in fact, take students to a safe point on a hill within 15 minutes.
The evacuation drill was part of a wider community plan in which the whole town is involved. The school is responsible for the evacuation of students up to the school gates, and then a committee of residents helps ensure the students are brought to safety. This exercise was one element of an “Early Warning and Preparedness” project, run by the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The aim of this larger initiative is to set up early warning systems, and assist in the strengthening of institutional disaster management and community preparedness plans.
During the course of the evacuation drill at the Rachaprachuanukroh School, the students had to cross over a bridge and a busy road controlled by the police. They were then led to higher ground on a steep hill, where teachers took roll call to make sure no one was left behind. Six volunteer lifeguards were positioned on the beach and along the school evacuation route.
The practice evacuation revealed some flaws in the plan, and therefore a meeting took place after the practice session. The bridge was deemed too narrow, so local authorities will fund its widening. The rough path from the beach to the safe point will be replaced by a new road that will provide an easier public route to traverse. The drill also illustrated that the police radio and the committee radio were not compatible and need upgrading.
In a presentation after the drill, Dr. Bhichit Rattakul, senior advisor of the ADPC and former governor of Bangkok, emphasized the importance of establishing protocol. He said that when the tsunami hit, people in the early warning centre in Hawaii saw the waves as they approached, but there was no established system in place and they did not know whom to call. The result was that none of the tsunami countries had enough prior warning.
