Three Tsunami sirenes have already been set up at Patong Beach, and the entire island of Phuket will have 18 sirenes installed in tall towers along the coast. The local citizens have been informed about how to react if they hear the sirenes – however, the first time the authorities conducted a test of the warning system, none of the evacuation instructions were followed.
Instead of heading for the nearest high places behind the beaches on foot, like the instructions informed, people jumped in their cars and tried to escape by the roads. As a result, gigantic traffic jams formed around the smaller cities, preventing most people from getting away fast enough.
Scandinavian tourists will be wise to learn from these experiences, should the unfortunate event of another catastrophic wave take place. So far the Thai navy has created observation decks in the form of ships, which are located a few hundred miles west off Thailand’s coast. The crew on these ships are on the look-out for any sudden increases in the sea-level, but eventually electronic equipment will replace the “human water scouts”.
