Elementary school children, an old woman with a cane, a young couple with a baby -- everyone at Bang Nieng beach in Phang Nga province appeared to take part in the drill, evacuating homes, schools and beaches for Buddhist temples some 500 meters away on higher ground.

Some 4,000 people gathered at the temples, with police and nurses on hand and a helicopter hovering. "Victims" with mock injuries were carried by stretcher from the beach to first aid centers, where medical staff tended to them.

Sirens blared and speakers from new warning towers broadcast messages in five languages warning people to leave the shore.

After the warnings, another message said: "Attention please. The situation is back to normal. Please continue rescuing the injured."

Phang Nga was the Thai province hardest hit by the tsunami. Many here said the drill could make the difference between life or death if the tsunamis ever return.

"I'm very scared. I'm still living near the sea. I decided to participate in the drill to protect myself," said Jumnean Sermsup, a 41-year-old housewife.

"With the tsunami tower, at least I will have more time to run to higher ground. I feel safe now," said Jumnean, who lost her mother, two younger sisters and one nephew to the deadly waves last December 26.

Red Cross volunteer Yubol Pumsathit had hundreds of orange life jackets ready at the beach. Each life jacket had a flashlight, a whistle and a bottle of water attached.

"People take the drill very seriously. We are scared of another tsunami. This exercise is not for fun," she said.

Some 50,000 people took part in the drills in six Andaman coastal provinces of Phang Nga, Krabi, Phuket, Satun, Trang and Ranong, according to the National Disaster Warning Center.

"Everything went well. There was no panic and no complaints," said the center's Air Vice Marshal Pakdiwat Vachirapanlop.

"We want people to be always aware of tsunamis. The purpose of the drill is to prevent a tsunami-like disaster from happening again," Pakdiwat said.

Last year governments around the region had no way to warn the public of the approaching tsunamis, leading to the staggering death toll of around

In Thailand alone, nearly 5,400 people were killed on the Andaman coast with about half of the victims foreign holidaymakers.

Pakdiwat said each of Thailand's 62 tsunami warning towers is programmed to blare sirens and broadcast tsunami warning messages in Thai, Chinese, English, German and Japanese.

"The messages will say 'Tsunami is coming. Please evacuate to higher ground'," he said, adding the tsunami warning towers, which stand 16.5 meters (54 feet) tall, each cost the government 1.6 million baht (39,000 dollars).

Thailand has completed more than half of the 62 towers planned for the six tsunami-hit provinces. The rest are scheduled for completion by mid-March.

Set up in May, the National Disaster Warning Center monitors and relays critical information on natural disasters. Its network is linked to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii and Japan's Meteorological Agency.

Once the center issues a tsunami warning, the towers can sound sirens and send warning messages to the public within two minutes.

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