Tourists hunker down as Pabuk hits Thailand
Surat Thani, January 4
Tourists marooned on Thai islands hunkered down on Friday as Tropical Storm Pabuk arrived on the south coast, knocking down trees and blowing off roofs in its path, but was losing speed, officials said, while warning against the risk of flash floods.
Accompanying winds churned up high waves and gusts in the Gulf of Thailand as Pabuk, which means giant catfish in Lao, made landfall in the Pak Phanang district of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, where trees crashed down on houses to cause widespread damage.
Thailand’s first tropical storm in three decades also killed one person. Disaster mitigation officials said the person killed was among the crew of a fishing boat that capsized in strong winds near the coast of nearby Pattani province. Another of the crew was missing, but four others were safe.
Boats were recalled to shore across the Gulf of Thailand, while two key airports — Koh Samui and Nakhon Si Thammarat — were shut until Saturday, leaving tourists who remain on islands now cut off from the mainland. Weather officials warned of torrential downpours and strong winds in 15 provinces. — Agencies
7,000 evacuated
About 7,000 people were moved to evacuation centres as Pabuk struck the Thai province of Nakhon Si Thammarat on Friday, officials said. Authorities were trying to evacuate 80,000 people in the province, an official of disaster department said.
