Tropical Storm Pabuk made landfall in southern Nakhon Si Thammarat province yesterday afternoon. Some coastal villages in the Pak Phanang district were the victims. The storm then swept over parts of Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla.
The heavy rain showers and wind speed of 75 kilometers per hour caused a lot of damage such as flooding, blown down trees and power poles that fell over. The damage is estimated at at least 5 billion baht. Fortunately, the number of casualties seems to be not too bad. One fisherman was killed when his boat overturned and another person on board is still missing.
The ferry services to and from Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan were taken out of service. Boats in Phuket had to stay ashore as a precaution. Bangkok Airways canceled 20.000 flights between Phuket and Koh Samui after taking XNUMX tourists off the island on Thursday. The TAT's office on Samui reported that XNUMX tourists had stayed to await the end of the storm.
According to experts, the worst is over, the Meteorological Department now expects the storm to lose strength and move into Surat Thani as a depression.
Source: Bangkok Post
Be amazed at the estimated damage: in the end it was no more than wind 9 that came ashore - not a really unusual phenomenon in the Netherlands.
Given the panic among tourists on the islands on Friday, you would have expected at least force 12 winds and really high waves.
Since this will happen more often in the future, it might be time to invest in more seaworthy ships for tourist transport. Cross-channel ferries don't turn around for it. If Thailand wants to remain an attractive and above all safe(r) holiday destination, something will have to be done in this area.