Thailand, which was hit by deadly waves two years ago, began Saturday testing the loudspeakers on the towers along the Andaman coast, which had recently been linked up by satellite to a US-funded deep-sea warning buoy deployed in December.

During the test, the beachfront towers were due to broadcast a two-second knocking sound every morning at 9:00 am around the coastline in six provinces.

The test was meant to carry on indefinitely to make sure the system was always working.

But officials called off the operation Saturday after testing the loudspeakers at just two towers, amid concern that locals and tourists might think a real tsunami was heading to the beach and panic.

Smith Thammararoj, director for Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre, said the tests were halted because there was a lack of communication between local authorities.

"The test for the two towers worked well," Smith told AFP.

"But the tests at the other towers were cancelled as information had not been delivered well enough to explain to local people and tourists, and if we had carried on the test, it would have scared people."

In the event of a tsunami, the US-funded warning buoy is designed to detect the earthquake which causes the waves and send a warning signal through the satellite to emergency officials and to the coastal towers.

Smith said his centre will meet Monday to discuss plans for the next test, but stressed that it was important to hold them regularly to ensure the system worked.

Some 5,400 people were killed in Thailand, roughly half of them foreign holidaymakers, when a tsunami ripped across the Indian Ocean in December 2004.

The disaster killed 220,000 people around the region.

The test came just days after another tsunami struck the western Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, killing 34 people and displacing 5,500 others.

earlier related report
Thailand begins daily tsunami warning tests
Bangkok (AFP) April 7 - Thailand on Saturday started daily tests of 79 tsunami warning towers along its southern Andaman coast, which was ravaged by deadly waves two years ago, officials said.

The test Saturday was the first time that officials have checked the towers' loudspeakers since the system was linked by satellite to a US-funded deep-sea warning buoy deployed in December, the National Disaster Warning Centre said.

In the event of a tsunami, the buoy would detect the waves and send a warning signal through the satellite to emergency officials and to the coastal towers.

During the test, the towers will broadcast a two-second knocking sound every morning at 9:00 am around the coastline in six provinces.

The sound will be heard within a radius of 70 metres (230 feet), and the tests will continue indefinitely to make sure the system is always working, the centre said.

"We are starting to test the speakers from today to make sure systems at the towers work properly," said Thitipat Bejraburninn, the centre's chief of policy and planning.

"On July 25, we will arrange a full-scale system test and evacuation plans in the six provinces," he told AFP.

Some 5,400 people were killed in Thailand, roughly half of them foreign holidaymakers, when a tsunami ripped across the Indian Ocean in December 2004.

The disaster killed 220,000 people around the region.

The test came just five days after another tsunami struck the western Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean, killing 34 people and displacing 5,500 others.

Thitipat said another 48 tsunami warning towers are under construction along the Gulf of Thailand, while an additional 144 towers are planned for provinces in the northern and northeastern regions to warn of floods or other natural disasters.

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