Travel down the Andaman Coast and you can't miss them - the 20-metre-tall steel towers with sirens on top, the evacuation directions signs, even standalone weather bureau offices, all built in the past three years as the country's first-ever tsunami warning network.

There's just one problem, no one's clear on who's supposed to push the alarm button.

"If you really want to make sure your community's safe, you should put volunteers on lookouts on your beaches every night," Montree Chanachaivi-boonwat, director of the Disaster Management Policy Bureau, told villagers from Ban Nam Khem - the community hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami with about 800 lives lost - during their recent meeting in Phuket.

"No matter how much we want to watch out for you, we're in Bangkok. When the tsunami comes, you'll be the ones getting killed. So if people in your community don't make the sacrifice, who will?"

This point was illustrated quite clearly just three months ago. On September 12, a major 7.9-earthquake struck under the ocean floor in nearly the same spot as the big one that triggered the 2004 Andaman tsunami. While many communities were aware of the earthquake as it occurred during the day, they had no idea whether they should flee or not.

"We closely monitored news about the earthquakes on TV, but there was nobody to help us evaluate the possibility of a tsunami," said Maitree Jongkraijak, a community leader from Ban Nam Khem.

"Government officials said on TV there was no need for evacuation, but we weren't sure how much we could trust them. Who knows why the warning towers remained silent, was it because they didn't want to scare tourists? Our unease grew as night began to fall."

Finally, several hours later, Smith Thammasaroj, chairman of the National Disaster Warning Committee, appeared on TV to make a national announcement that only a small wave was expected, so there was no need to take emergency action.

"Don't ask me why there was no official warning announcement on TV Pool, but there was one to cancel the warning several hours later. I don't know either," said Waiyapot Worakanok of the National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC).

Such a cancellation statement coming so late after tsunami warnings had already been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii to most countries on the Andaman Sea, just added to the communities' lack of faith in the new warning system, said Re Sripimai of Klong Pakbang, the last fishing community remaining on Phuket's Patong Beach.

"I remember vividly the horror three years ago. I don't need anyone to tell me what to do, I just ran to a high place with my emergency bag," Re recalled.

"The warning tower? Yes, there's one nearby, but who knows if the system works. What if those sirens are broken because of poor maintenance?"

Low confidence in the central warning system is widespread among communities in the areas affected by the 2004 tsunami, says a recent study entitled "Disaster Risk Reduction: People's Report" compiled by Action Aid. Omitting local consultation in formulating the government's strategic national action plan for 2008-2017 only adds insult to injury, the report said.

That's why the villagers of impoverished Ban Nam Khem developed their own disaster-preparedness plan. Initiated by some two dozen leading figures in the community, they raised funds to train volunteers and buy communications equipment to assist emergency evacuations.

"We've got a great system now that we've built on our own. We have regular meetings, drills and procedures to make sure everyone knows what to do when we sound the alarm," said Panya Anantakool of Ban Nam Khem.

"We didn't need all their fancy equipment, nor could we trust it, so we set up our own which works much better," said fellow villager Maitree.

"We also installed new signs to point out evacuation routes because those put up by the government are useless.

Some say you have to run 4 kilometres before you can reach a high spot. Would women, kids and the elderly be able to run that far in time? Our signs are more practical because we know our neighbourhood.

"But what we have would be all useless unless we can trust someone to inform us when a wave is on its way," Maitree added.

The absence of any warning by the government three years ago was seen as a crucial factor in the high death toll.

While the Meteorological Department knew of the warning issued from Hawaii, nothing was passed on to the Thai public on December 26.

The NDWC's Waiyapot said when an earthquake occurs, it's the job of the director-general of the Meteorological Department, in his capacity as NDWC director, to issue an evacuation warning.

However, the director could only recommend evacuation while the actual orders to evacuate people have to come from the governors of the affected provinces.

"Why only communicate to the governors who live in the city, why not also us who are actually on the shore?" Maitree of Ban Nam Khem wanted to know.

Waiyapot said it did seem somewhat odd that while the broadcast facility to feed into TV Pool is located in the NDWC's office in Nonthaburi, the head of the Meteorological Department, who is in charge of announcing the warning, sits some 40 kilometres away at the department's headquarters in Bang Na.

"In case there's a need to issue a tsunami warning during Bangkok's rush hours, how long will it take him to brave the traffic across town to the broadcast room?" Waiyapot asked.

Maitree said it was not just a matter of announcing whether to evacuate or not, but to immediately demonstrate to the public that the government is in control of the situation.

"As soon as they are aware of a tremor that has any possibility of generating a major tsunami, they must notify the public, even if their recommendations are for us to sit and wait for further information," Maitree said.

"Thankfully, because of radio and TV we might at least hear about an earthquake and decide for ourselves what to do."

"But what we're really scared about is what happens at night when none of us are listening or watching. We can't have people on the beach patrolling all night, and how much warning will this give us anyway, it's crazy."