Published on January 15, 2005
Re: "Bureau did all it could: Burin", News, January 6.
Reading the article shows that the Meteorological Department has no clue about being on the alert and taking preventative measures. All meteorological offices throughout the region should have been staffed at a fairly high level and ready to spring into action with warnings should anything happen. After all, there had been an 8.1 earthquake, the largest for three and a half years, only two and a half days earlier.
What is more, that quake involved one of the plates in the Southeast Asian region, the Indo-Australian plate. If the Thai Meteorological Department was not aware of this, then they should start reading The Nation ("No damage as 8.1 quake strikes off Aust coast", News, December 25). Fortunately, that one did no damage in spite of its size, because it was very deep in the sea and 800 kilometres from the Australian coast. Nevertheless, it was felt in Tasmania. That should have warned the Meteorological Department that large movements were taking place that could have effects anywhere on the boundary of the plate. An earthquake, or tsunami, warning centre needs to have plans in hand to notify a lot of relevant authorities when the chance of a big event gets large. They should have practice runs with their procedures as well as sort out any potential problems with them. Yes, there will be times when public general alerts are issued and prove to be false alarms. Contrary to the suggestions by some, this will not damage the tourist industry, as far as Western tourists are concerned. Rather, it is likely to enhance it. The tourists would be reassured that although Thailand is in a danger zone, there are adequate warning systems in place for the risk to their personal safety to be minimal. Gareth Clayton BANGKOK Let definition of 'victim' include property renters Reading your paper, I am left wondering yet again if the people in Bangkok - namely, journalists - are living in a parallel universe from those of us who live outside of the Big Mango. I am writing from the front line here in Patong Beach, Phuket, where my Thai wife and I owned the world's largest art gallery of it's kind - before it took a direct hit from the tsunami, wiping out 60 highly paid Thai jobs in an instant, not to mention over 4,000 in-stock paintings. Since then, I have watched the world's media show images not just of the disaster, but also of the collective world response, which in the main has been, according to the media, wholly financial, purportedly raising billions of euros and dollars and millions of baht for the victims. So, who decides who are the victims? If all this generosity went to plan according to the media, I could inform my currently out-of-work staff not to worry, because financial help is allegedly on the way. But I know that it's simply not true. A government minister early on stated publicly that the business owners in Patong were rich enough to rebuild without financial help from anybody. Oh really! Well what about us tenants who are not property owners but were paying a fortune in monthly rent to these Patong property owners? Who will help us restart and make the solid contribution that we were previously making to the local and national economy? It's been over two weeks now, and I have already emptied two bank accounts in the UK to pay my staff their monthly January salary. But that's it, with no prospects for salaries in February, which raises the question once again of who qualifies for this enormous amount of money allegedly being raised worldwide. Why does the media only focus on the poor and dispossessed? What about the new middle class like my Thai staff, whom I, perhaps regretfully, introduced to private schools and healthcare and in some cases property mortgages? Are they to be abandoned because they don't quite fit the media's idea of the unfortunate victims of the tsunami? Also, you mention that victims are able to purchase building materials at wholesale prices. Er, where exactly is this happening? Not at any store I know in Phuket, including the big names, such as HomePro. Once again, it's an urban myth created by those living in a parallel universe wholly divorced from the reality on the ground. Paul Conner, former owner of The Artist Studio Gallery PHUKET PM was overly hasty in rejecting cash aid Prime Minister Thaksin decided not to accept cash donations from abroad. He will accept only technical assistance. He is concerned that Thailand would have an inferior status internationally if we accept cash donations to help tsunami victims. Actually, the PM should also reject international technical assistance. It also has monetary value, in some cases years of research and development and large budget expenditures that went into technology development. If we are so rich and self-sufficient, ask the families of tsunami victims in the South why the cash assistance from the government is so meagre. Ask resort developers at Khao Lak or on Phi Phi where the funding will come from to put them back in business and provide employment again. Look at per capita income for Thailand, estimated to be US$7,400 (Bt287,000) in 2004, compared with Taiwan at $23,400. What economic powerhouses does PM Thaksin think we are on a par with? This is the case of a leader projecting personal preference ahead of the welfare of the people. The same leader who wanted to use lottery proceeds to buy a stake in the Liverpool football club to help "brand" Thailand internationally. Netirat Intira BANGKOK Resourcefulness needed for early warnings Following the tsunami disaster, everyone is a Monday-morning quarterback. Now that it is over, everyone seems to have had a hunch that something terrible was about to happen, except those who succumbed to the massive waves. Take, for example, Smith Dharmmasaroj, a former meteorologist. According to him, he was sure that a tsunami was about to strike as soon as he heard about the massive December 26 earthquake. When he heard the news, he claims he tried urgently to call the director-general of the meteorological office. But first the phone was busy; and later, no one would answer it. I find Smith's thinking and acting dangerously shallow. First, he based his conclusions on a hunch rather than any facts. I'm sure in the past, he had many incorrect hunches, too. Second, he claims he desperately tried to contact the meteorological office but to no avail. Is that the extent of his effort? Why didn't he try and contact news agencies, the police or his friends for advice? And why does he say the phone first was busy, and then no one would answer it because it was Sunday and no one was at work? I'm sorry, but his story is not credible. It is easy to sound like the hero after the fact. But we do not need people making decisions based on speculation, hunches or guesswork. We need real data that measures the reality and extent of a possible tsunami threat. Second, we need resourceful people who are accountable for warning others of danger. A man like Smith, who is now responsible for establishing the tsunami early-warning system for Thailand, seems to lack real resourcefulness. He is good at saying, "See? I told you so." But I am sceptical about his ability to take tough decisions and act with courage and common sense. An early-warning system against tsunamis is critical, but even more critical is the quality of people we have developing and running the system. If we fail to put the right people in the right job, then no system, no matter how perfect, can prevent another disaster from occurring. Outraged Taxpayer BANGKOK Pornthip should be allowed to do her job Pol General Nopadol Somboonsub now demands that pathologist Khunying Pornthip Rojanasunand give her information on the tsunami victims to his team to pass on to Interpol. I agree that all data must be pooled with that of Interpol and agree with PM Thaksin that all information must be of the same international standard - but where have the police been for the past three weeks? If they'd been there as quickly as Pornthip and her team, efforts could have been coordinated from the start. As it is, the police apparently protested only after 75 per cent of the job was done. Also, the police say that international standards call for dissection of bodies, DNA tests, fingerprint identification and dental exams - and Pornthip hasn't dissected the bodies. However, the head of Phuket's multinational Disaster-Victim Identification Centre says that the methods used by Pornthip are the principal ones. And why weren't the cops on the scene faster and in greater numbers to help dissect the bodies before they decomposed? Rather than being jealous of Pornthip, Nopadol should focus on improving the police force so that they are as efficient as she is, and credit will flow by itself. Also, as a legal expert, he should emphasise getting our cops to abide by the law that they're sworn to enforce. For starters, he might ask residents of Yala et al whether they think of the police more as protectors or an occupying force - and why. Burin Kantabutra BANGKOK Perhaps nothing could have been done, after all As a reply to your indictment of the Thai Meteorological Department's inability to inform the public of an impending tsunami, I suggest you ask yourselves whether, given the proximity and severity of the subduction of 966 kilometres of the Eurasian plate, there would have been significantly less loss of life if given adequate warning. I quote from a book I read some weeks ago: "Civilisation exists by geological consent, subject to change without notice". In Thailand's case, there was precious little given. Philip Miles BANGKOK
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