Raging seas pound Gulf of Thailand shoreline

Raging seas pound Gulf of Thailand shoreline

Huge waves pound the coastal Pak Phanang-Hua Sai Road and send water about 20 metres high in Pak Phanang district, Nakhon Si Thammarat, on Monday. (Photo by Nujaree Raekrun)
Huge waves pound the coastal Pak Phanang-Hua Sai Road and send water about 20 metres high in Pak Phanang district, Nakhon Si Thammarat, on Monday. (Photo by Nujaree Raekrun)

Heavy seas pounded coastal communities and fishing fleets in several provinces along the Gulf of Thailand on Monday with the Meteorological Department warning that stormy conditions would continue tomorrow.

Huge waves struck 88 villages in six districts of Nakhon Si Thammarat province on Monday. They are all the districts of the southern province facing the gulf, namely Hua Sai, Khanom, Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat, Pak Phanang, Sichon and Tha Sala.

All local fishing boats were moored. Farms, paddy fields and orchards in Pak Phanang were damaged. Two seaside schools in Muang Nakhon Si Thammarat and Pak Phanang districts were closed on Monday. A temporary shelter was set up at a municipal auditorium in Pak Phanang to help victims.

Nakhon Si Thammarat governor Pheerasak Hinmuangkao said damage was being surveyed and he would declare affected areas disaster zones to speed up assistance.

In Chumphon province, a cargo ship carrying about 30 containers ran aground about 500 metres off the coast in tambon Tha Yang of Muang Chumphon district on its way from the Laem Chabang port in Chon Buri province to Surat Thani province on Sunday.

In Chon Buri, fishermen kept their small- and medium-sized boats ashore in the Sattahip Bay to protect their property from rough seas. In Surat Thani, a jetty collapsed on Koh Tao island.

The Meteorological Department stated on Monday that the northeastern monsoon would be producing big waves of 2-4 metres high in the Gulf of Thailand and small boats should remain ashore until Tuesday.

The Suntud Samut 1 vessel ran aground off Chumphon province on Sunday. (Photo by Amnat Thongdee)

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