Just a few hours ago there was an earthquake off the coast of Sumatra in Indonesia that registered 8.9 magnitude on the Richter scale. Shortly, after the earthquake an alert was put out to the provinces along the Andaman Coast including Phang-Nga and Phuket to evacuate beach areas.
Shortly afterwards, the alert was called off as the expected tsunami of 1.6 to 2 meters didn't happen. The situation is still being monitored, but the evacuation order has been rescinded.
Reports are coming in from Khao Lak and Phuket that the tannoy PA systems did work, and that evacuations proceeded quickly. In a way it is terrible to have an earthquake, but it is good to see that the emergency systems set in place after the devastating earthquake and tsunami of 2004 in the Indian ocean claimed 5,000 lives in Thailand worked effectively.
It is also good to see that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center funded and run by America is now coordinating better with the Thai authorities.
For more information read Thai Visa forum
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