The Thai Meteorological Agency reassured Pattaya residents they have little to fear from earthquakes or tidal waves, even those like this month’s massive quake off Indonesia.
A temblor measuring 8.6 on the Richter scale struck Sumatra April 20, 20 miles offshore from Aceh Province, epicenter for the catastrophic Dec. 26, 2004 earthquake that spawned a tsunami that killed more than 7,000 people in Thailand and more than 230,000 in Asia.
This tsunami early warning siren operates on Jomtien Beach, even though there is little chance of a tsunami in the Gulf of Thailand.
This time, however, the largest tsunami created was only about 30 cm. and the largest wave to hit Thailand – in Phuket – was about 7 cm.
Jaruwat Srichaowana of the meteorological agency reminded Eastern Seaboard residents Pattaya sits on solid earth not subject to earthquake faults and the Gulf of Thailand is largely protected from the threat of tidal waves.
Nonetheless, a tsunami warning station is operating in Jomtien Beach. Jaruwat also encouraged people to take notice of news bulletins after large earthquakes.
