PHUKET, 23 November 2013 Strong winds and waves lashed Thailand’s west coast damaging scores of sailboats that were to be raced in next week’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta and sunk many more fishing boats and speedboats on Saturday.
The 22 damaged race boats were moored at Khao Khat Bay in Phuket when violent waves pushed them against tide barriers and rocks. The initial damage estimate has been put at 40 million baht. Authorities had difficulty recovering the damaged vessels due to the continued bad weather.
Reporters observed around 100 damaged fishing boats and speedboats of tour companies along the beaches of Phuket on the same day.
Provincial authorities have banned all types of sea vessels from leaving shore, and for their owners to closely monitor the weather forecast from the Meteorological Department.
Over the past week, the weather bureau has issues warnings of intense downpours in the southern provinces, prompting Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to direct Disaster Prevention and Mitigation officials to ready themselves to respond to weather-related scenarios in the South.
