Pabuk, the first tropical storm in decades to strike during the peak holiday season, is expected to make landfall on Friday evening with the eye passing over Nakhon Si Thammarat further to the south. He was optimistic that tourists would return after the storm was over. Thursday preparations Before hitting Thailand, the storm's approach sent tens of thousands of tourists fleeing the popular beach resorts where they been vacationing for the holiday season. Army trucks were driving around remote seaside areas in Nakhon Si Thammarat on Thursday evening, searching for stragglers who had not yet been evacuated. Koh Samui appeared to have been spared much of the brunt of the storm.
Thai authorities said the person died when a fishing boat he was in capsized in strong waves at about 2 a. Pabuk made landfall in Thailand on January 4, emerging into the in the North Indian Ocean basin shortly afterward. . Some 30,000 had not been reconnected by Saturday. In Koh Samui, beach guards hoisted red flags to warn people to stay out of the sea. At least two nearby airports on the mainland have been shut and ferry services have been suspended. The first tropical cyclone and named storm of the and , Pabuk originated as a tropical disturbance in the on December 28, 2018, which organized into a tropical depression on December 31.
There are fears the storm will be the worst to hit Thailand since 1989, when Typhoon Gay left more than 400 dead. Pabuk is forecast to pass over the narrow neck of land between the Gulf of Thailand and into the Andaman Sea — home to the tourist resorts of Phuket and the Similan National Park, a diving paradise. Pabuk killed 8 people in Thailand, including one Russian tourist; 3 of the victims were killed by flying debris and the storm surge. Many dragged their vessels ashore, attaching ropes to the boats and having friends help tug them on to beaches. A tropical storm in 1962 killed more than 900 people in the south.
Archived from on 4 January 2019. . That was good fortune for the tourism industry, whose safety problems were highlighted last July when 47 Chinese tourists drowned after their boat sank in rough seas near the popular resort of Phuket. Surat Thani is home to the popular tourist islands of Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan. Pabuk also caused one death each in Vietnam and Malaysia. Masses of water from the sea often cause the worst damage - as seen here in China after Typhoon Nanmadol in August 2011. The main tourist islands such as Koh Samui were spared the worst.
Báo Kinh Tế Đô Thị. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Power lines were brought down as the storm approached In the past, tropical storms have killed hundreds of people but authorities say they are well prepared and able to cope with the expected storm surges of up to five metres. The Thai Meteorological Department said the storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph at late afternoon, down from 47 mph when it hit land shortly after noon. Over 6,100 people were evacuated from various provinces ahead of the storm, government officials said. Cuba, New York and New Jersey were particularly affected.
The storm made landfall in the Pak Panang district in the Nakhon Si Thammarat province. It advised all ships to stay ashore through Saturday and warned of possible storm surges on the Gulf coast. Affected areas included the Thai provinces of Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarart, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Ranong, Phangnga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun. Beaches were closed, but even with the bad weather approaching, tourists on the popular island of Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand continued to visit bars and restaurants catering to them. It was also the earliest-forming storm in both the Northwestern Pacific Ocean and North Indian Ocean basins on record. Heavy rains accompanied the storm while strong gusts knocked over trees, damaged houses and toppled power poles. Update: Although Pabuk is less powerful than Typhoon Gay, which devastated Chumphon and Prachuap in 1989, Seree said it could cause more damage than a tropical storm that ravaged 12 southern provinces in 1962.
A tropical storm bringing torrential rain, high winds, and waves up to 16 feet high has slammed into Thailand in what could be the nation's worst storm in more than 30 years. Ahead of this week's storm, more than 6,100 people in four provinces were evacuated, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. The Meteorological Department said the storm was moving west into the Gulf of Thailand with maximum winds of 65 kilometres per hour, and that waves of up to 5 metres high were possible in the Gulf of Thailand, and to 3 metres high in the Andaman Sea on the west coast. People also say they have been advised to stay indoors after 16:00 local time until Saturday morning. Koh Samui appeared to have been spared much of the brunt of the storm. All 10,000 tourists are safe.
Map plotting the track and the intensity of the storm, according to the A tropical disturbance formed over the southern portion of the on December 28, 2018, absorbing the remnants of on December 30. Elsewhere, many people were forced to evacuate coastal areas of Thailand. The last big storm, Typhoon Gay, struck in 1989 and killed hundreds of people. Airlines and boat operators suspended operations for safety reasons and tourists were forced to change travel plans. A tropical storm in 1962 killed more than 900 people in the south. Royal Thai naval aircraft carrier Chakri Narubaet left its base Friday to assist with rescue and relief operations, officials said. Officials said widespread torrential rainfall was expected through much of that area.