PHUKET: A huge rainstorm deluged Phuket overnight triggering flooding and chaos - and forecasters say the large depression is stationary above Phuket and unlikely to move quickly.

Flooding caused an unprecedented mess on Phuket's major roads, with police advising that Thepkasattri Road - Phuket's main north-south artery - was blocked solid in Phuket City.

No alternative routes were offered for Phuket tourists who have planes to catch.

A Phuketwan reader reported that the road over Patong Hill had sprung a fresh and very large hole, and that emergency two-way traffic was operating along beach road in Patong.

Water in roads behind Patong's Jungceylon shopping complex was said to be waist-deep in places.

Traffic in Yaowarat Road, another major Phuket City thoroughfare, was slowed to a walk with huge tailbacks caused by floods outside Bangkok Hospital Phuket.

Floods were backing up all over Phuket instead of flowing into the sea because today's dramatic downpour coincided with an unusually high tide.

The standstill on the roads coincided with a report in today's Bangkok Post headlined: Phuket tourism outlook bright, infrastructure lags.

Landslips were reported in Kamala, north of Patong, and at least two Phuket schools called off classes for today. Residents reported ''roads turned into raging rivers.''

Major roads were swamped throughout Phuket City. North of Phuket, the road to Khao Lak was blocked by fallen power poles that tumbled in the severe storm.

The prediction for Phuket today: An 80 to 100 percent chance of solid, intense rain. Boats are warned not to go to sea.

The Phuket office of the Meteorological Department told Phuketwan early today that the intense storm was being caused by the convergence of the outer edges of two systems associated with typhoons.

Although Phuket does not suffer from typhoons, it does feel their effects. Sandwiched between two huge monsoon systems, Phuket tends to escape the worst of both.

But there are times when the weather pattern contrives to dump large amounts of water on Phuket. This is one of them.

Phuketwan's night shift workers discovered the office flooded when they arrived for work at 3.40am today. By that time, heavy rain had been falling on Phuket City for a couple of hours.

By daybreak, flooding roads and drains and canals can be expected. If the rain continues, as forecast, residents and tourists will find the road conditions difficult.

Some villages - including the large village of Patong - will battle flooding.

By 7am, reports of serious ''roads turned into rivers'' were coming from readers.

Two Phuket City schools - Satree Phuket and Phuket Wittayalai - announced before 7am that they would be closed today because of flooding.