HUA HIN - Heavy rains struck the beach city on Friday, causing floods and property damage as weather forecasters warned of continued downpours in the area.
Strong winds and rain whip up high waves along the shoreline in Hua Hin district of Prachuap Khiri Khan on Friday. (Photo by Chaiwat Sardyaem)
The downpours prompted authorities to close Saphan Pla - the busy local fishing pier - after it had been severely battered by high waves. Municipality chief Nopporn Wuthikul declared the beach unsafe over the next two days.
More than 20 beachfront shops moved their umbrellas and lounge chairs away from the beach to escape strong winds and high tides.
Sompong Poomduang, a local fisherman in Hua Hin district, said waves around three to four metres high sank around 10 small fishing boats moored in the area and damaged three others.
In Hin Lek Fai subdistrict west of the town, the storm knocked down some trees and residents in some areas were without electricity for nearly nine hours.
Phetkasem Road in Pran Buri, Sam Roi Yod and Kui Buri districts and roads in Hua Hin were flooded in the morning before the water level receded later in the afternoon. Strong winds also damaged more than 10 houses in the three districts, provincial officials said.
Heavy rains impair the visibility of drivers using Phetkasem Road in Pran Buri district of Prachuap Khiri Khan on Friday. (Photo by Chaiwat Sardyaem)
Though the deluge receded from parts of Phetkasem, there was still heavy traffic congestion on both the road's inbound and outbound lanes, said Pol Lt Col Denklao Rattanakij, chief of the Prachuap Khiri Khan Highway Police.
The Meteorological Department said that rainfall was continuing in the lower central and upper southern regions, particularly Phetchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan, and the weather could cause waves in the Gulf of Thailand about 2 metres high.
"People in the areas should beware of severe weather," it said in a statement released on Friday afternoon.
The agency and the Office of Water and Flood Management Policy (OWFMP) also warned of rain in parts of the northern and northeastern regions in the coming days as typhoon Haiyan moves inland across Vietnam.
The super typhoon with maximum sustained winds of about 315 kilometres an hour is currently battering the Philippines where it has killed at least four people. It is about 600 kilometres southeast of Manila.
The Meteorological Department forecasts more rain in some northeastern provinces on Sunday and Monday. Royol Chitradon of the OWFMP said rain could also hit northern provinces on Tuesday, but the rains from Haiyan are not expected to be severe.