Dense rain and strong winds from the outer rings of Typhoon Ketsana lash Cape Panwa on the south-east coast of Phuket.
PHUKET CITY:The
rain lashing down on Phuket this week is not normal monsoon rain but
the outer rings of Typhoon Ketsana, which arrived in Thailand today,
according to Phuket Meteorological Office.
Phuket Meteorological Officer Sophon Sanggaew said the conditions would persist for another two or three days.
Typhoon
Ketsana was downgraded to a tropical storm after making landfall in
Ubon Ratchathani province this morning with sustained winds of 55
kilometers per hour.
Before arriving in Thailand Typhoon Ketsana
devastated the Philippines, leaving 246 dead, and caused extensive
damage and flooding in Cambodia and Vietnam, killing another 49 people.
Moving
west at a speed of 15 kilometers per hour, the typhoon is expected to
weaken as it passes through the northeastern region of Thailand, but
will dump a lot of rain.
Meanwhile the southwest monsoon over
the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand is also intensifying, with strong
winds and waves likely to reach a height of 2 to 3 meters.
