Southern Thailand Braces for Tropical “Storm Pabuk”

BANGKOK – Thailand is bracing for “Storm Pabuk”, the first tropical storm to directly hit the Gulf of Thailand in January in more than three decades.

Meteorological Department Director Phuwieng Prakhammint said the storm is expected to bring heavy rains, rough seas and coastal flooding in the southern coastal areas as well as the capital city of Bangkok.

The Office of National Water Resources (ONWR) confirmed yesterday that the first tropical storm of 2019, Pabuk, will make landfall in the upper South tomorrow with a maximum wind speed of 65 to 90 kilometers per hour.

The Director asked people to closely follow and heed the Department’s warning, assuring of the Department’s effective disaster warning system.

It is expected that areas in the storm’s path will suffer damages from strong gales and intense downpours of up to 300 millimeters, while it is expected to stir waves as high as 7 metres in the Gulf of Thailand.

According to the Meteorological Department’s eighth warning, the storm was currently moving westward at the speed of 10 kilometers per hour and has already entered the Gulf of Thailand. Its maximum wind speed was 65km per hour at that time.

The Director asked people to closely follow and heed the Department’s warning, assuring of the Department’s effective disaster warning system.

Koh Samui and Kho Tao in the Gulf would be directly hit, he warned.