One dead, thousands evacuated as Storm Pabuk hits Thailand

World
Europe

01:48

Thailand's first tropical storm in three decades killed at least one person when it hit the southern coast on Friday, knocking down trees, blowing off roofs in its path and sending thousands of people flocking to shelter inland.

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.

Accompanying winds churned up high waves and gusts in the Gulf of Thailand as tropical storm Pabuk made landfall in the Pak Phanang district of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, where trees crashed down on houses to cause widespread damage.

A woman runs toward her house while holding her dog in arms as tropical storm Pabuk approaches the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand, January 4, 2019. /VCG Photo

Weather officials warned of torrential downpours and strong winds in 15 provinces in southern Thailand, home to one of the world's largest natural rubber plantations and several islands thronged by tourists.

The Thai Meteorological Department on Friday forecast strong winds and waves up to three to five meters high in the Gulf and two to three meters high in the Andaman Sea, and warned ships to keep ashore.

Authorities have opened evacuation shelters for vulnerable communities across Thailand's southernmost provinces. Over the past few days, 6,176 people have been evacuated to shelters.

00:46

Tourists flee in peak holiday season

Tourists marooned on Thai islands hunkered down Friday as Pabuk edged closer.

Two key airports -- Koh Samui and Nakhon Si Thammarat -- were closed until Saturday with flights by major and low-cost airlines canceled.

Boats were recalled to shore across the Gulf of Thailand, leaving tourists who remain on islands now cut off from the mainland.

Waves crash along an oil rig as tropical storm Pabuk reaches the Gulf of Thailand in this still image taken from a video posted on social media, January 4, 2019. /VCG Photo

Flights into Surat Thani, the gateway to Koh Samui, were nearly empty on Friday morning, a rare sight in Thailand's lucrative peak holiday season.

"Ten thousand tourists are still on Koh Phangan," said Krikkrai Songthanee, district chief of the island which neighbors Samui and is famed for its full-moon party.

Social media videos showed oil rigs being battered by waves, and tankers navigating terrifying walls of water.

National energy company PTT Exploration and Production Pcl said it had suspended operations at Bongkot and Erawan, two of the country's biggest gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand.

Source(s): AFP ,Reuters