Disaster management
Apart from development work for the well-being of his subjects, His Majesty‘s benevolence is also manifested in times of catastrophes. One noted incident was in 1962 when a typhoon struck twelve coastal provinces in Southern Thailand and caused extensive destruction to lives and properties. His Majesty was the first to promptly take action by making a nationwide appeal through his palace radio s tation, the Aw Saw Radio at Ambara Villa, for the relief of the storm’s victims. The amount of money donated was so great that after the relief operation there was enough left over to establish the Rajaprajanugroh Foundation to relieve victims of natural disasters. The 26 December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami wrought mass destruction in several countries in East Africa, South and Southeast Asia, including six southern provinces of Thailand on the Andaman Coast.