Interior Ministry steps up earthquake readiness, flags Surat Thani tremor cluster
Deputy Interior Minister Sakda Vicheansil has ordered provinces—especially 23 high-risk areas—to tighten monitoring, inspect buildings and dams, and run regular evacuation drills after a spate of onshore earthquakes earlier this year.
Meeting convened after series of onshore quakes
Deputy Interior Minister Sakda Vicheansil on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the Central Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Operations Centre to review Thailand’s earthquake situation. The meeting followed repeated onshore tremors with epicentres in Thailand, including Surat Thani, Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Lampang, as well as nearby areas.
Officials noted that Surat Thani recorded more than 20 earthquakes, with several felt by residents, triggering panic and unease.
Most quakes are small, but agencies keep watching fault lines
An analysis presented at the meeting found that over 90% of earthquakes in Thailand are minor, with magnitudes below 3.0. Relevant agencies will continue tracking movement along fault lines and monitoring potential impacts on structures.
Dams and data links prioritised, Cell Broadcast to support alerts
Sakda said preparedness must focus on critical infrastructure—especially water-storage dams—including stronger information management, dam monitoring systems, earthquake databases and warning systems. He also called for tighter data links between agencies to speed up analysis, reporting and alerts, including the use of Cell Broadcast to send warnings to mobile phones when earthquakes occur.
23 risk provinces told to inspect buildings, update plans, rehearse evacuations
Sakda stressed that earthquakes cannot be predicted or warned of in advance, urging a shift from panic to preparedness. He instructed provinces—particularly the 23 high-risk provinces—to closely follow updates from the Earthquake Observation Division, the Thai Meteorological Department, and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), and to keep personnel and disaster-response equipment ready around the clock.
Local administrative organisations were told to inspect the stability of buildings, billboards, structures, small dams, weirs and embankments. Any unsafe or damaged structures must be reported to responsible parties and repaired without delay.
Provinces were also ordered to update earthquake contingency plans, including risk areas, expected impact zones, lists of vulnerable groups, equipment inventories, evacuation routes and temporary shelters, and to conduct joint drills with all sectors and community networks.
DDPM: Alerts via Thai Disaster Alert app and Cell Broadcast thresholds set
Thirapat Katchamat, DDPM director-general, said the department is coordinating with the Thai Meteorological Department, the Department of Mineral Resources and other agencies to monitor and analyse the situation and issue public updates through all channels, including the Thai Disaster Alert application, social media, its website, Facebook and X.
He said Cell Broadcast alerts will be issued for:
- Onshore earthquakes in Thailand of magnitude 4.0+
- Onshore earthquakes in Southeast Asia of magnitude 6.0+
- Earthquakes in the Andaman Sea of magnitude 7.0+
The Thai Meteorological Department will send the first alert message, followed by updates from the DDPM and the Department of Mineral Resources under jointly agreed standard operating procedures.
Provinces told to ensure shelters are truly usable
Thirapat said provinces should urgently survey and inspect shelters to ensure they can accommodate evacuees in practice, and prepare essential facilities such as cooking arrangements, toilets and equipment needed to support daily living in temporary accommodation.
He added the DDPM is upgrading the Thai Disaster Alert application to consolidate information on all disaster types into a single platform so agencies and the public can access updates more efficiently.
