Worried that the drills alone may not be enough, local schools have lately experimented with a disaster-response course too.

“This course teaches children about how to assess disaster risks. Over the course, they learn how to identify safe spots in their villages and draw up evacuation plans,” said Maitree Jongkraijug, a leader of the Ban Nam Khem community in Takua Pa.

When the tsunami raged through coastal villages of the district on Dec-ember 26, 2004, thousands of people were killed. A huge number of victims also went accounted for. Ban Nam Khem was sadly ranked among the 47 hardest-hit villages.

Maitree, also a co-ordinator of the Andaman Network, revealed that his network had developed the disaster-response course in the hope of teaching children analytical skills and how to deal with disaster risks.

He hoped the course would be introduced to schools across Phang Nga. He said the course aims at ensure that school students know how to respond properly in the event of disasters.

“We need to focus on self-reliance,” he said, adding that the course did not deal with just tsunamis, because Thais also face floods, mudslides, landslides, tropical storms, earthquakes, drought, forest fires and smog.

These disasters not only cause casualties and property damage, but hurt the environment, society and the economy to a big extent every year.

Maitree, therefore, is determined to promote communities’ capacity to manage disasters and their impacts.

Apart from the course for children, his network has also sought to prepare and empower volunteers. Interested people can get training from his network in regard to traffic management, the delivery of first aid, and evacuations in times of crises.

He said such moves were useful to not just local communities. “When disasters hit other areas, our volunteers can head there and help.”

He believed people should not just wait for help from the government in event of disasters. In Maitree’s opinion, communities should be able to help themselves.

Chumchonthai Foundation’s manager Preeda Kongpaen said the 2007 Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act should be amended to boost the participation of stakeholders at all levels.

“A fund should be established to increase local administrative bodies’ role in disaster responses and management,” she said.

Preeda believed help would reach affected people fastest and most efficiently when handled at the local level. She said help could be delayed if people had to wait for central agencies to facilitate the process.

“The central agencies may not be able to reach all victims. There are problems of discrepancies when it comes to relevant information, if things are handled from elsewhere.”

She noted that local people knew best what happened in their areas, so self-reliance must be built. “We have to arrange the emergency response from self-help – to national help and to international help,” Preeda said.

She said local communities should at the very least have a warning system in place, with all locals educated about evacuation routes and centres.

“Community-based disaster management should cover preparations in pre-disaster periods, the delivery of help during disasters, and rehabilitation in post-disaster periods.”

Preeda said a disaster-management fund should be set up to drive public education and awareness on disaster knowledge.

She said the structure of the National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Commission should |be overhauled so locals with experience in disaster management and relevant civic bodies are better represented.