Cell Broadcast tested to ensure Thailand’s readiness for disaster alert and response

DDPM claims to have hit a success in the first-ever nationwide test of the system, whereas work synergy as well as data synthesis remain a challenge

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has launched the first-ever nationwide test of the Cell Broadcast system in a bid to improve the country’s disaster alert and response after the major earthquake on March 28.

The 7.7-magnitude earthquake on March 28 shook Bangkok and some other provinces hard, leaving people frustrated on the streets as they hardly received any alerts promptly. Instructive messages from concerned agencies, including the DDPM were delayed several hours as they were sent via conventional methods, including manual SMS text messaging.

The system can directly send 200,000 to two million text messages to mobile phone users per hour, according to mobile phone operators. There are about 150 million mobile phones in the country, 70 million of which use the Android system, while 50 million more use iPhones, according to the government.

The situation prompted Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to call an urgent meeting with all concerned agencies on the next day after the incident to revamp the whole communication system in times of disaster. Aside from using the TV pool, the PM ordered a shift from SMS text messaging to the Cell Broadcast system. (Read: PM orders major revamp on disaster preparedness in response to public discontent)

SMS VS Cell Broadcast

According to the DDPM, SMS or Short Message Service is a service under which mobile phone operators or networks send short text messages, no more than 70 letters each, to their mobile phone customers via the so-called point-to-point connection and local base system. This results in short text messages being sent to mobile phone users one-on-one or when they are within a radius of their signal poles.  Mobile phone operators say they can send only 200,000 to two million SMS messages per hour. 

Unlike SMS, the Cell Broadcast system enables text messages to be “broadcast” at once via signal channels set aside specifically for emergencies by mobile phone operators or networks. This prompts alert messages to be sent to mobile phone users immediately and as targeted. 

But certain infrastructure needs to be put in place to get the system operational. This includes the Cell Broadcast Centre, which includes mobile phone operators or networks, and the Cell Broadcast Entity, which is the centre to aggregate data, synthesise and analyse it, before disseminating it through the system. The agency assigned is the DDPM.

Mobile phones need to be 4 G or 5 G as well. Those still using 2 or 3 G, the DDPM will still send SMS text messages to them alongside the CB messages. According to the DDPM, there are around three million mobile phone users who still use 2 or 3 G phones in the country.

The first test

On Friday, the DDPM conducted a small-scale test in five locations: the provincial halls in Chiang Rai, Ubon Ratchathani, Suphan Buri and Songkhla, and the Government Complex, Building A and B in Bangkok. The key message that was sent out was: “This is a test message from the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM). No action required.”

Those joining the test reported to have received the message sent by the DDPM within a minute. DDPM Director-General Pasakorn Boonyalak said he was satisfied with the test results, as those on the far end of the system could receive the message sent to them timely, within a minute.

The challenge now would be how well to scope the target areas by the CBC, data synthesis, and work synergy among concerned agencies. The Director-General admits that data synthesis and analysis is a challenge as the department still has limited resources and capacities to handle all kinds of disasters. So far, it has the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) as its data synthesis and analysis arm, and it needs to be empowered with more resources. 

At this point, the agencies concerned have agreed with the new SOP, or Standard Operating Procedures. For immediate disasters like earthquakes, the Earthquake Observation Division at the Meteorological Department will be responsible for data aggregation, synthesis, and analysis before sending alert messages directly to the CBC for broadcasting nationwide. The DDPM will then be in charge of other concerned messages that follow to instruct people during an emergency. For the other six disasters, including storms, mudslides, flooding, and PM2.5, the DDPM will be in charge of all the processes and protocols.

Assoc. Prof. Seri Supratid, the DDPM’s advisor at the NDWC, said the most challenging aspect of disaster warning and alert, especially for immediate disasters like earthquakes, is how to warn or alert people as timely as possible, not 16 or 17 minutes like ever happened in the recent earthquakes that hit the country.

The professor agreed that data synthesis and analysis is no less critical when compared to the need for communication infrastructure, and a bold body of knowledge and sophisticated equipment are needed to accomplish the task. The NDWC needs to be empowered with more resources and equipment so as for it to be more competent with an adequate number of experts and tools for disasters. 

Concerned officials have agreed that a new, larger institutional body may be needed to handle all kinds of disasters in the country. Currently, data comes from different agencies and work synergy is also needed. But this depends on the government, whether it can see that disasters are as critical as other aspects in the country, they said.

A medium-scale test on the Cell Broadcast system is scheduled on Wednesday (May 7) in Bangkok’s Din Daeng district and four Muang districts in Lampang, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Ratchasima and Surat Thani provinces. And a large-scale test is scheduled on May 13, which will cover the entirety of Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Ayutthaya, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Bangkok. The system is expected to be fully operational in July, according to the DDPM.