After being critical that no alarm was sent following last month’s deadly earthquake in Myanmar, Bangkok will test a cellphone disaster alert system on Wednesday ( Apr 23 ), senior officials in Bangkok announced that Thailand will conduct the tests.
The Cell Broadcast System ( CBS ), according to Director General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation ( DDPM), will be tested next month in remote areas, including the sprawling capital, which was severely damaged by the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in neighboring Myanmar.
He stated at a press conference that the system would apply three wireless networks to give warning messages “quickly and widely protection, both on natural disaster and security threats.”
There will be three check runs beginning on May 2 with the smallest specific area of four town house properties, with the next and largest drilling covering the entire Bangkok and Chiang Mai regions on May 13.
According to Phasakorn, cellphones of residents may display a pop-up message with a horn on them in Thai and English.
No action is required, the message does read,” This is a test information from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.”