PHUKET: Light rain is expected to fall across 20 percent of Phuket today, according to a forecaster who spoke to Phuketwan this morning.
''Any warnings are issued by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation,'' the meteorologist said.
Warnings for Phuket, included with 31 other provinces in a DDPM alert for floods and possibly landslips if heavy rain occurs, have been challenged by readers who have come to rely on Internet weather forecasters for more accurate predictions.
Meanwhile, the meteorologist said, Phuket's Public Health department could be expected to provide public health alerts if the smoke particles returned to envelop the holiday island and produced unhealthy readings, as they are now doing in Singapore.
If small boats are to be prevented from putting out to sea because of dangerous weather, any ban remains the responsibility of the Phuket Marine 5 director.
Yet Marine 5 will rely on weather forecasts to make its decisions.
''The weather clearly has an effect on tourism and fishing,'' Phuketwan editor Alan Morison said today.
''We don't doubt the DDPM has a responsibility to err on the side of safety, and the haze from the Indonesian fires has also become part of the weather story.
''We want to ensure the safety of our readers and all Phuket visitors and residents.
''Yet if false warnings are given too often, people tend to look elsewhere for accurate information.
''That creates even more danger.
''Much better to have accurate information available from one source rather than different kinds of information being produced by four or five organisations.''
''Any warnings are issued by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation,'' the meteorologist said.
Warnings for Phuket, included with 31 other provinces in a DDPM alert for floods and possibly landslips if heavy rain occurs, have been challenged by readers who have come to rely on Internet weather forecasters for more accurate predictions.
Meanwhile, the meteorologist said, Phuket's Public Health department could be expected to provide public health alerts if the smoke particles returned to envelop the holiday island and produced unhealthy readings, as they are now doing in Singapore.
If small boats are to be prevented from putting out to sea because of dangerous weather, any ban remains the responsibility of the Phuket Marine 5 director.
Yet Marine 5 will rely on weather forecasts to make its decisions.
''The weather clearly has an effect on tourism and fishing,'' Phuketwan editor Alan Morison said today.
''We don't doubt the DDPM has a responsibility to err on the side of safety, and the haze from the Indonesian fires has also become part of the weather story.
''We want to ensure the safety of our readers and all Phuket visitors and residents.
''Yet if false warnings are given too often, people tend to look elsewhere for accurate information.
''That creates even more danger.
''Much better to have accurate information available from one source rather than different kinds of information being produced by four or five organisations.''
