Thai Seismologist Concerned Over Possible Tsunami Along Andaman coast

BANGKOK, April 19 (TNA) - A Thai seismologist has cautioned that a powerful earthquake near Nocobar Islands in the Indian Ocean will probably cause a tsunami which may hit Thailand's southern Andaman coastal areas within about two hours. The warning was raised Thursday by the seismologist, Associated Professor Pennueng Wanitchai, of the Thailand-based Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), at a seminar on “Earthquake in Thailand” organized by the Engineering Institute of Thailand in Bangkok. Associated Professor Pennueng acknowledged that there tends to be more victims and severe damages from earthquakes these days due to expanding human habitations, as historical and geologic records show that earthquakes have not occured more frequently than in the past. According to the Thai seismologist, there remain possibilities of more earthquakes in Indonesia’s Sumatera Island, as it lies close to an active seduction zone although it is now unlikely that there will be a new powerful earthquake in the region due to a release of accumulated power through a series of seismic activities over the past 10 years. The seismologist insisted what is more worrying is a movement of two tectonic plates near the Nocobar Islands in the Indian Ocean, which have been static for a long time, conceding it is possible that southern Thailand along the Andaman coast could be hit by a tsunami within two hours if there was a powerful earthquake near the Nocobar Islands. Meanwhile, Paiboon Nuannil, a seismologist of Prince of Songkhla University’s Faculty of Science, Hat Yai Campus, called for knowledge sharing among agencies concerned and suggested that a meteorological office be set up at his university and be supervised by both academics and students in order to provide timely and accurate information for people whenever there is any earthquake in the future. (TNA)