Yellow flags went up on Pattaya-area beaches to warn swimmers to take care as tropical storm Bebinca impacted the area.
The storm moved into Thailand’s North and Northeast Aug. 16-17 with its effects being felt in the East and South.
City spokesman Pinit Maneerat said yellow warning flags went up advising caution while swimming. Red flags, by contrast, tell people to stay out of the water. Additional lifeguards also were dispatched to beaches.
Pinit acknowledged that the flags weren’t a perfect system because people either didn’t understand what they meant, didn’t see them or just ignored them. Swimmers even ignored lifeguards who approached them to explain the risk.
He said the flags often are spaced far apart with ignorant swimmers thinking that if they go to an area where there is no flag visible it was safe to swim, he said.
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