2 minutes ago, Chiang Mai Bill said:

Police and Army helping? They are much too busy making sure they all (many) get in front of the TV cameras and for the photo shoots after an arrest is made!

On the Thai news this morning the Army is helping seems like people dont want to move

6 minutes ago, Zyxel said:

" the biggest tropical storms to hit the country for more than 30 years" I think the last one was typhoon Gay that caused more than 800 fatalities in and around the Gulf of Thailand in November 1989. Many fishing boats sank and also an oil drilling ship, the Seacrest (90 people died). There was no warnings of the approaching storm and that explains the high number of fatalities especially offshore. I am sure this time everybody working offshore has been safely evacuated to shore as it is normal procedure since after typhoon Gay strike. All fishing boats are probably back to the harbor.

Part of the beach where I walk my dogs is a small 'harbour' for several small fishing (?) boats.

 

Unfortunately, I didn't walk them this a.m. as it looked as if heavy rain was imminent.  A shame, as quite apart from my dogs missing out on their walk, it would have been interesting to see if the small boats had been moved further inshore in view of the storm warnings.

Well I'm here in Samui and the storm by the look of it is heading South. Sure there is some wind and rain but nothing as bad as it was 3 weeks ago over a few days then...so far.  I'm using this app: https://www.windy.com/?8.827,101.430,9

30 minutes ago, Zyxel said:

" the biggest tropical storms to hit the country for more than 30 years" I think the last one was typhoon Gay that caused more than 800 fatalities in and around the Gulf of Thailand in November 1989. Many fishing boats sank and also an oil drilling ship, the Seacrest (90 people died). There was no warnings of the approaching storm and that explains the high number of fatalities especially offshore. I am sure this time everybody working offshore has been safely evacuated to shore as it is normal procedure since after typhoon Gay strike. All fishing boats are probably back to the harbor.

Typhoon Forest (Nov 92) was bigger than Gay, the loss of life was very low though due to "lessons learned" from Gay, I had the joy of being in the GOT for both of them.

2 hours ago, Youlike said:

Why don't they use a car to tow it? Or an elephant if there's no car around?

 What's wrong with a buffalo? Oh! wait. Most of them are sick, according to the word going around in Pattaya, Nana and Soi Cowboy.

38 minutes ago, vinniekintana said:

Anyone from Nakhon Sri online now?

They seem to be on the path

I do not  stay there anymore, but Pak Phanang and Khanom will bee hit very hard . Hope not the same as 1962. Tourist destinations on the west coast have not much to fear, although the news reports suggest otherwise.

Happy holiday folks - head north to the warm sunshine and tranquility among scenic mountains, lakes and rural countryside!! Plenty of adventure/activity holidays especially in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai Provinces.

2 hours ago, TonyClifton said:

I don't get it.  When converted, the highest wind they are calling for is 46 mile per hour.  In the Northeast of America and really anywhere in America, for 46 mph we might not close our windows.  Someone explain to me what the horror is, because they're acting worse than Texans told that it might snow an inch in Dallas.

This is true, but homes and commercial buildings in the US are built quite differently than here. Local structures are not built for this.

 

There is also the storm surge to consider which will likely do more damage than the wind. Particularly an issue for all the hotels and other tourist spots which are lafrgely located right on the coast.

 

There is a reason that Thai villages are usually a bit inland and not right on the coast.

3 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

This is true, but homes and commercial buildings in the US are built quite differently than here. Local structures are not built for this.

Not totally disagreeing with you but I always marvel at the devastating effects a tornado has on wood frame houses in the US...

27 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

Happy holiday folks - head north to the warm sunshine and tranquility among scenic mountains, lakes and rural countryside!! Plenty of adventure/activity holidays especially in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai Provinces.

What - and miss all the fun?

As usual this site is trying to give the appearance that the sky is falling.  I was just down there I just got back from down there last night it's not that bad it's just another tropical storm not even typhoon category.  Yes people are evacuating some areas but hardly even a few thousand if that it's probably more like hundreds of people not 50,000.  This site cracks me up sometimes.  They tried doing the same thing with the income letters being phased out, oh my God the sky is falling we'll all have to pack up and leave lol.  Then that whole thing turned out to be a good thing for most of us at least.  There was a lot of misinformation about that issue and I see the same type of exaggerating going on with this story and others. When we travel to as tourists and especially live in foreign countries we do assume at least some risk. And a storm can happen just about anywhere. Look at how FEMA handled hurricane Katrina in the states now that was a pretty bad response. The Thai authorities down there are actually doing a good job but they're not miracle workers either.  I actually just got home from a really long road trip from way down there and it's almost as if it's business as usual just a storm coming have to be prepared beyond that it's no where near as bad as the article is trying to make it seem.  This is why I don't read these articles on here hardly anymore. Every once in a while this site is maybe good for a heads up on something but rarely.  

2 hours ago, RotMahKid said:

They want the tourist to come to their country, but evacuate them? That's to much for Thailand!

This thread has captured all the typical negativity you expect on this forum.  You have half the people saying the Thais are useless for not evacuating the tourists - because they don't care about foreigners or are too greedy, and the other half are saying the Thais are pathetic because this "only" has winds of up to 90 kmph and they shouldn't be making such a big deal about it - it's not like "proper" storms in the US.  They can't win on TV can they?

 

They've been issuing warnings for days, ferries and flights have been cancelled, they have provided shelters for those who have chosen to stay, and the army is on standby.  Seems like they have got it about right to me.

 

 

Amazing - so many tourists leaving after celebrating NYE. Who would have thought!

 

Hope nobody was injured in the panic.

28 minutes ago, ParadiseLost said:

Not totally disagreeing with you but I always marvel at the devastating effects a tornado has on wood frame houses in the US...

You mean like every time one comes through the area known for tornadoes.

50,000? Really? At any given time there are no 50,000 tourists in the island... Hahaha... That must include all tourists that finished their Xmas holiday and just returned home... What's the panic for? 

46 minutes ago, ParadiseLost said:

Not totally disagreeing with you but I always marvel at the devastating effects a tornado has on wood frame houses in the US...

I'm amazed that some who live in Tornado Alley buy/build timber frame houses.

Well its certainly very very windy at the moment, and power is out in the south of the island (Samui). https://www.ventusky.com/?p=8.7;99.6;5&l=rain-3h seems to show a different time line to the windy.com one. 

50 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

This is true, but homes and commercial buildings in the US are built quite differently than here. Local structures are not built for this.

 

There is also the storm surge to consider which will likely do more damage than the wind. Particularly an issue for all the hotels and other tourist spots which are lafrgely located right on the coast.

 

There is a reason that Thai villages are usually a bit inland and not right on the coast.

i'd say thai villages are not solid concrete structures like hotels.

It appears the storm is going to stay south of Samui. Landfall is expected at Nakhon Si Thammarat and there are already reports of chest-deep flooding and downed power lines and trees along the coast there.

 

 

It would be very interesting to hear from folks in the tourist sector in the storm impacted areas...  if they had prior reservations and then needed to leave/evacuate early because of the storm, are the hotels/resorts refunding them or waiving the charges for the missed nights.... or charging them anyways...

5 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

It would be very interesting to hear from folks in the tourist sector in the storm impacted areas...  if they had prior reservations and then needed to leave/evacuate early because of the storm, are the hotels/resorts refunding them or waiving the charges for the missed nights.... or charging them anyways...

Is Act of God still a good excuse?

Just askin'

37 minutes ago, Jim7777 said:

As usual this site is trying to give the appearance that the sky is falling.  I was just down there I just got back from down there last night it's not that bad it's just another tropical storm not even typhoon category.  Yes people are evacuating some areas but hardly even a few thousand if that it's probably more like hundreds of people not 50,000.  This site cracks me up sometimes.  They tried doing the same thing with the income letters being phased out, oh my God the sky is falling we'll all have to pack up and leave lol.  Then that whole thing turned out to be a good thing for most of us at least.  There was a lot of misinformation about that issue and I see the same type of exaggerating going on with this story and others. When we travel to as tourists and especially live in foreign countries we do assume at least some risk. And a storm can happen just about anywhere. Look at how FEMA handled hurricane Katrina in the states now that was a pretty bad response. The Thai authorities down there are actually doing a good job but they're not miracle workers either.  I actually just got home from a really long road trip from way down there and it's almost as if it's business as usual just a storm coming have to be prepared beyond that it's no where near as bad as the article is trying to make it seem.  This is why I don't read these articles on here hardly anymore. Every once in a while this site is maybe good for a heads up on something but rarely.  

On this occasion, I think the storm warning may be appropriate.

 

If only they had a similar warning system in place prior to the tsunami ☹️.

 

I gather Phuket diving boats have stopped for a couple of days - so they must believe the warnings.

7 hours ago, kotsak said:

When I saw that photo it reminded me that not much has changed for some people since the Corinthian Diolkos from almost 3 millenia ago.

If it ain't broken don't fix it (or even if it is, nevermind)....

No tragedy too severe, no eminent disaster too great, no loss of life too high for barstool comedics to practice their pathetic craft.

Thai military are evacuating coastal villages in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Severe flooding, downed electric poles and trees reported from coastal areas there.

 

Unconfirmed report on twitter that evacuation of Tha Sala district in Chumpon has been ordered.

1 hour ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

It would be very interesting to hear from folks in the tourist sector in the storm impacted areas...  if they had prior reservations and then needed to leave/evacuate early because of the storm, are the hotels/resorts refunding them or waiving the charges for the missed nights.... or charging them anyways...

This would be resolved with a couple of brown envelopes behind the scenes.....

It is being reported as having already made landfall on the mainland.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

21 minutes ago, Sheryl said:

It is being reported as having already made landfall on the mainland.

Sent from my SM-J701F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Gone really dark here in Phuket

3 hours ago, Burma Bill said:

Happy holiday folks - head north to the warm sunshine and tranquility among scenic mountains, lakes and rural countryside!! Plenty of adventure/activity holidays especially in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai Provinces.

You're joking, right?

1 hour ago, Sheryl said:

Thai military are evacuating coastal villages in Nakhon Si Thammarat. Severe flooding, downed electric poles and trees reported from coastal areas there.

 

Unconfirmed report on twitter that evacuation of Tha Sala district in Chumpon has been ordered.

Tha Sala is NST, not Chumphon.