Welcome Remark
The 2nd International Conference on Disaster Preparedness for Persons
with Disabilities
By the Governor of Phuket Province
Mr. Wichai Phraisa-ngop
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Millennium Patong Resort

　Good morning Vice Minister of Information Communication Technology, Senator Montian Buntan, Mr. Hiroshi Kawamura, President of Daisy Consortium and distinguished guests

　I am Mr. Wichai Phraisa-ngop, Governor of Phuket Provinc. First of all, welcome all honorable visitors to Phuket, one of the most famous tourist attractions in Thailand and in the world. As you may know that the 2nd International Conference on Disaster Preparedness for Persons with Disabilities is conducted by Daisy Consortium, Thailand Association of the Blind, National Office for Empowerment of Persons with disabilities, Committee on Social Development and Children, Youth, Women, the elderly, persons with disabilities and the underprivileged affairs of the Senate, Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Thai Meteorological Department, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, National Electronics and Computer Technology Center and other co-hosts, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Daisy Consortium who plays a major role in organizing the conference that would benefit the disaster preparedness for persons with disabilities at the international level, and I would like to thank for your trust in choosing Phuket to host this conference.

　Tsunami disaster happened on 26 December 2004 and was highlighted as a disaster affected throughout the Indian Peninsula. There were more than 300,000 casualties. It tremendously devastated the economic knockdown particularly for tourism. In Thailand, more than 5,000 people were dead or lost. Phuket was one of many cities in this region hit by Tsunami. In fact, we must accept that the primary cause for many casualties was the lack of Tsunami preparedness in each country. After the lesson learned in 2004, Thai government has established a new organization called the National Disaster Warning Center, equipped with technologies that can do systematic warning for Thai people and people in other countries in this region before potential Tsunami disaster generates in the Indian Ocean. Besides, Tsunami preparedness and evacuation training were conducted consistently for people in Tsunami-prone areas. With these measures, we are more confident of prevention or mitigation of loss from Tsunami in the future.

　Referring to the international conference on preparedness for disasters including earthquake, floods, or tsunami for persons with diverse disabilities, it would bring great benefit for persons with disabilities, the government and other stakeholders relevant to natural disaster preparedness. I believe that warning system and evacuation management are required to break barriers and be accessible for persons with all types of disabilities. Therefore, recommendations from this conference would contribute to the efficiency of warning system and disaster preparedness. I also believe that the government or relevant stakeholders who may not acquire adequate information regarding disaster preparedness for the persons with disabilities will get the benefit from the outcome of this conference.

　Last but not least, I would like, again, to say welcome all distinguished guests to Phuket Province. Now, may I recommend you some famous tourist attractions in Phuket for your relaxation? In Phuket, we have many beautiful beaches such as Patong, Kata, Karon and Ravwai in which you can enjoy various activities including swimming, fishing and boat sailing. For those of you who love taking photos of landscape from a bird-eye view, we have high mountains for that purpose. Moreover, in Phuket, tourists can taste fresh seafood at the beach or in many restaurants as well as local food available in the markets in the city center. I wish this conference a great success according to its objectives. At the same time, I wish all of you to be happy in spending your time in Phuket province. I also hope that Phuket will have another opportunity to welcome all of you again in the future.

Thank you.