PHUKET: A double disaster has struck April's earthquake epicentre victims on Phuket with savage monsoon gusts toppling trees and ripping roofs off homes last night.
Residents of Baan Ripon, in the central Phuket district of Thalang, may have thought the 4.3-magnitude earthquake underfoot that sent cracks rippling along the walls of scores of homes may have been their fair share of fate.
But last night powerful gusts of wind ripped through the region around 1.15am, jolting residents from their sleep.
One lucky resident told how she had rushed from her house, hearing a noise like a train, and then looked back to see a tree crash on her bedroom.
The damage was being examined today as the monsoon blasts continued to hit Phuket, although not quite as savagely as the wild surf and storms did yesterday.
Many of Phuket's prime beaches lost vast amounts of sand that was sucked out to sea as giant waves pounded sea walls, wrecking massage huts and threatening to tumble lifeguard towers.
Officials from the Phuket Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Centre and the Phuket Office of the Natural resources and Environment Department agreed that the havoc wreaked by the sea would probably be repaired in time evetually by the sea - but there was no telling when.
Meanwhile, stir-crazy tourists were actually still keen to swim despite the huge waves generated in yesterday's storms, prompting a call from a Lifeguard Services spokesperson to close the beaches for the rest of Phuket's monsoon season and in future monsoon seasons.
The idea of closing the beaches in the interests of keeping tourists safe brought no reaction from beachfront municipal authorities or resorts.
The chief lifeguard at Karon, Supachai Janpeth, said this latest contract puts 28 lifeguards in three pods along what is possibly Phuket's longest and certainly most dangerous beach.
''At times like these, with the surf as wild as it is today and yesterday, that's still not enough lifeguards,'' he said, acknowledging that fresh warning signs along the west coast in seven languages would help deter some determined swimmers.
Forecasters say there's a 70 percent chance of rain across Phuket today, down on the 80-90 percent of yesterday, with wind gusts up to 40 kmh and waves of 2-3 metres.
The weekend will also be bleak but the severe monsoon trough afflicting Phuket and the Andaman is expected to make way for sunny weather by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
Residents of Baan Ripon, in the central Phuket district of Thalang, may have thought the 4.3-magnitude earthquake underfoot that sent cracks rippling along the walls of scores of homes may have been their fair share of fate.
But last night powerful gusts of wind ripped through the region around 1.15am, jolting residents from their sleep.
One lucky resident told how she had rushed from her house, hearing a noise like a train, and then looked back to see a tree crash on her bedroom.
The damage was being examined today as the monsoon blasts continued to hit Phuket, although not quite as savagely as the wild surf and storms did yesterday.
Many of Phuket's prime beaches lost vast amounts of sand that was sucked out to sea as giant waves pounded sea walls, wrecking massage huts and threatening to tumble lifeguard towers.
Officials from the Phuket Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Centre and the Phuket Office of the Natural resources and Environment Department agreed that the havoc wreaked by the sea would probably be repaired in time evetually by the sea - but there was no telling when.
Meanwhile, stir-crazy tourists were actually still keen to swim despite the huge waves generated in yesterday's storms, prompting a call from a Lifeguard Services spokesperson to close the beaches for the rest of Phuket's monsoon season and in future monsoon seasons.
The idea of closing the beaches in the interests of keeping tourists safe brought no reaction from beachfront municipal authorities or resorts.
The chief lifeguard at Karon, Supachai Janpeth, said this latest contract puts 28 lifeguards in three pods along what is possibly Phuket's longest and certainly most dangerous beach.
''At times like these, with the surf as wild as it is today and yesterday, that's still not enough lifeguards,'' he said, acknowledging that fresh warning signs along the west coast in seven languages would help deter some determined swimmers.
Forecasters say there's a 70 percent chance of rain across Phuket today, down on the 80-90 percent of yesterday, with wind gusts up to 40 kmh and waves of 2-3 metres.
The weekend will also be bleak but the severe monsoon trough afflicting Phuket and the Andaman is expected to make way for sunny weather by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
I would assume most of the damaged structures along the beachfront were illegal anyway. An example of what nature wants rather than ineffectual action on the part of the authorities. Unfortunately Patong and other beaches are no better now than before the tsunami which proves even nature has a hard time winning against the forces of corruption.
Posted by interested observer on June 8, 2012 13:37