PHUKET, Nov 17 (TNA) – The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation is installing new tsunami detection buoys in the Andaman Sea and the Indian Ocean to replace an old set of buoys due for maintenance.
Chettha Molikarat, deputy director-general of the department, on Monday launched a boat carrying the new tsunami detection buoys for its 14-day installation mission.
The installation was set to be completed on Nov 29 and the new buoys will replace old ones that had been used for two years and reached their maintenance schedule.
The devices ensured safety for people and operators in six tourist provinces facing the Andaman Sea.
After the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Thailand agreed to join a tsunami warning network with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States. NOAA handed tsunami detection buoys to Thailand for the purpose in December 2006. They were installed 965 kilometers west of Phuket.
In January 2017, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation installed the second set of tsunami detection buoys 290 kilometers northeast of Phuket.
Buoys of both sets were scheduled for maintenance every two years. (TNA)
