Indonesia's latest earthquakes pose no tsunami threat to Thailand's southern coastal provinces and the government is well prepared to issue timely warnings should they be needed, Thailand's leading tsunami expert said Thursday, according to DPA. National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) chairman Smith Dharmasaroja said there had been no signs of tsunamis in the aftermath of a 8.4-magnitude earthquake off the coast of western Indonesia Wednesday and a series of aftershocks Thursday. Smith was the only meteorological expert to warn the government that Thailand could fall victim to tidal waves years before the December 26, 2004 tsunami disaster struck, claiming 5,400 lives, half of them foreign tourists vacationing in Phuket, Phang-nga and Phi Phi beach resorts rimming the Andaman Sea. But on Thursday he advised residents and tourists living in the six provinces rimming the Andaman Sea to stay calm. In an interview with the state-run Thai News Agency (TNA), Smith assured southern residents that the NDWC will provide an advance warning in case of any real tsunami threat. "The National Disaster Warning Centre can send out a warning to the six southern coastal provinces about one to one and a half hours in advance should a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Sumatra island approach," Smith said. "If there was an earthquake around the Nicobar island (India), the warning can be issued 45 minutes in advance."
