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Thailand news, politics, business, crime, lifestyle, and tourism—stay updated with breaking news and in-depth analysis from Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and beyond.
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Pabuk: Now sits over Andaman Sea, moving west
The south of Thailand awakes this morning to a wet and windy aftermath of tropical storm Pabuk. The storm centre has crossed the Peninsula and now sits west of Phang Nga province as it weakens and continues to move westerly away from the coast. Gale-force winds, storm surges and flash flooding are still predicted as the remnants of the weakening…
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English teacher arrested after inner city organic marijuana farm raid
A 46 year old English language teacher has been arrested for allegedly operating an organic marijuana farm and selling the produce online. He was arrested today after a raid on a four level building in Bangkok’s Phayathai inner city district. Police say that on the third floor of the building, officers found five litres of cannabis oil, 50 plastic pots…
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Pabuk: One crew dead, another remains missing – trawler sinks off Pattani
A boat crew has drowned with another still missing after a fishing trawler with six crew sank in rough seas off Pattani earlier today. The body of 47 year old Pramote Wongsuwan washed ashore around 11am. Another crewman, 51 year old Chalong Chanthana, is still missing. The four remaining captain and crew, aged between 34 and 41, were rescued after…
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Pabuk makes landfall as it swirls across the Malay Peninsula
PHOTO: The National The Meteorological Department is reporting that the outer arms of tropical storm Pabuk made landfall at 12.45 pm along the coast of Pak Phanang, district of Nakhon Si Thammarat today. The storm is weakening as it moves towards neighboring province Surat Thani to the north, moving at around 18 kilometers per hour, with maximum wind speeds of…
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Tropical storm Pabuk claims first victim
PHOTO: Abdulloh Benjakat A trawler has sunk off the coast of Pattani province due to stormy seas caused by tropical storm Pabuk. Reports say one fisherman has died with another missing. Four managed to make it back to shore safely. The body of Pramote Wondsuman has been identified, while the missing man is only known by his first name, ‘Chalong’. The…
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40 more people died during Seven Days of Danger
463 people died due to traffic collisions and chaos over the past week – the seven days of danger – with drink diving and speeding, again, the major cause of traffic incidents. The death toll was up by 40 from last year’s count of 423 and close to the 2017 record of 478. Drink-driving was listed as the cause of…
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Pabuk: 2,000 tourists on Koh Phi Phi moved to Krabi mainland
PHOTOS: Krabi PR Office About 2,000 tourists on Phi Phi Island moved up on land. Some are Phuket tourists who are currently unable to return to the island due to the ban on boats leaving port. The Ao Nang Tourist Police say that lots of tourists from Phi Phi Island have been arriving at a pier in Krabi City as…
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Pabuk edges closer to southern Thailand
PHOTO: Aljazeera “Officials expect the conditions to persist into Saturday.” Aljazeera is reporting that tropical storm Pabuk is forecast to make landfall on Friday evening in Nakhon Si Thammarat coastal islands bringing torrential downpours and strong winds to more than a dozen other provinces in the south. The region is home to one of the world’s biggest natural rubber plantations…
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Pabuk: Warnings for coastal residents to stay indoors
by Pratch Rujivanarom Strong gale conditions and surging seas are pounding the coastlines of three provinces this afternoon. The Meteorological Department is warning residentsto stay indoors and away from the coast. The provinces affected so far include Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla. Department director-general Phuwieng Prakhammintara says Tropical Storm Pabuk was expected to have greater affect on southern coastlines as…
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Suicide at Bangkok’s Terminal 21 shopping mall as Italian man jumps from escalator
PHOTO: Living + Nomad 44 year old Federico Maistrello fell to his death yesterday after jumping from an escalator at Bangkok’s Terminal 21 shopping mall. CCTV footage of the incident shows the Italian man coming down the escalators from the sixth to the fifth floor when he decided to jump. He fell in full view of shoppers in the central…
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Pabuk: Surging up the coast towards Koh Samui
PHOTO: Vikasa Yoga Retreat The tropical storm ‘Pabuk’ is due to make landfall on the Surat Thani islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao later this afternoon, after sweeping up the southern Gulf coast this morning. At this stage authorities report plenty of rain and strong winds but limited damage. When the storm hits Samui later today it…
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British motorbike driver dies after collision with power pole in Chalong
A British male motorbike driver has died after colliding with a power pole in Soi Ta-iad (Soi Steroid) in Chalong. The Chalong Police were notified of the incident at 8.40pm last night at an electricity pole in Soi Ta-iad. Police and Emergency responders arrived to find a Kawasaki Ninja 250CC motorbike crashed on the road near the power pole. The…
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Deputy PM throws doubt on election date
by Chanwanpen and Somroutai Sapsomboon The NCPO has throw a curved ball at the Election Commission, placing the onus on the Commission’s committee to decide the date of the general election whilst taking into account the preparations for the royal coronation ceremony. There’s also been suggestions of a month’s delay from the election’s tentative date of February 24. Deputy PM…
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Pabuk: Ships ‘must’ remain at shore – Phuket Governor
Phuket’s Governor Phakkaphong Tavipatana has issued an official warning that ships ‘must’ remain on shore in every district connecting to the Andaman Sea in Phuket. Governor Phakkaphong says, “The warning notifications are for controlling, taking care, precaution, reducing risk and preventing an avoidable disaster off the coast of Phuket.” “For maintaining national security, peace, life and property, Phuket applies the…
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Pabuk: Regular updates throughout today following the storm up the coast
Storm Watch – 8.30am Rough seas off the coast of Nakhon Si Thammarat yesterday afternoon as tropical storm Pabuk approached land. Tens of thousands of tourists have been evacuated from local coastal communities and some tourists have evacuated the popular islands of Koh Samui, Koh Tao and Koh Phangan which are in the path of the storm today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h86FqX2CzBc Storm Watch…
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Pabuk: Friday awakes with the storm surging up the Gulf coastline
30,000 people are estimated to have been evacuated from coastal districts in Nakhon Si Thammarat whilst some tourists are taking precautions of leaving the Gulf holiday islands, airports close, boats remain at mooring and schools are shut. Thailand’s southern Gulf coast prepares for winds up to 95kph, heavy downpours and floods. From Nakhon Si Thammarat up to Chumpon provinces, emergency…
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Thai woman, who won lottery in 2017 and donated 2 million baht, wins again
PHOTO: Shin Min Daily News 53 year old Suwana from Ang Thong in the south of Thailand, can’t believe her luck, as she wins top lottery prize for the second year running. In 2017, she was the lucky winner of 30 million baht – the top prize – and has since proceeded to donate over 2 million baht to build…
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Pabuk: Koh Phi Phi travellers stranded
Koh Phi Phi officials have cancelled all ferry services to and from the island as of today as a precaution in light of the tropical storm Pabuk approaching the Malay Peninsula. Tourists who are now on Phi Phi will have to stay there until the boats are allowed to leave port again, probably Sunday. Krabi Tourist Police say that all…
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Precautions taken in the south for Pabuk
FILE PHOTO With the impending arrival of tropical storm ‘Pabuk’, everyone in the coastal regions are bracing for landfall. Koh Samui officials have been ordered to monitor all shipping and tour boats, while all tourists spots and national parks have been told to prepare to close. Phuket airport is already on high alert, urging all passengers to double check their…
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Similan National Park to be temporary closed due to tropical storm ‘Pabuk’
The Mu Ko Similan National Park in Phang Nga is to be temporary closed for two days, tomorrow and Saturday, for tourist safety with the approaching tropical storm ‘Pabuk’. Mu Ko Similan National Park in Phang Nga announced yesterday that ‘PABUK’ is moving to north-west which will affect the southern part of Thailand from today until Saturday. For tourists safety, the…
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Pabuk: Heading for Koh Samui, Surat Thani
The projections of ventusky.com show ‘Pabuk’ making its way up the Gulf of Thailand in a north-westerly direction. According to the map model, the storm is likely heading for Koh Samui and likely to make mainland landfall further up the coast around Chumpon. But the fallout from the storm will certainly affect the entire southern coastline from Nakhon Si Thammarat,…
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Pabuk: A very rare event – Remembering ‘Harriet’ in 1962.
The last major tropical storm to hit the southern coastal Gulf region in January was back in 1962. It started, just like Pabuk, as a weather system off the western coast of the Philippines. In this case on October 19, 1962. After making its way across the South China Sea and scooting across the bottom of southern Vietnam, the system…
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Pabuk: Tourists flee Gulf islands of Koh Phangan, Samui and Koh Tao
“Waves could reach seven meters high in the Gulf of Thailand.” Thousands are departing some of the tourist hot spots including Koh Phangan and Koh Tao as the region’s first tropical storm for January in 30 years heads northwest across the Gulf of Thailand. Tens of thousands of tourists are reported to be fleeing the Thai resort islands of Koh…
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No restriction on tourist numbers visiting Similan Island for three months
The Phuket Administrative Court has issued a temporary order for the Similan Islands. The order overturns a recent restriction on tourist numbers on the island for three months. Yesterday the Phuket Administrative Court ruled to temporarily stop the restriction of tourist numbers visiting the Similan Island from January 1 to March 31. The President of Similan Surin Tour Operators, Nipon…
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“Don’t go to Thailand” – another Chinese social media firestorm
PHOTO: Thai Rath Thai Rath is reporting that officials from the Tourist Assistance Centre have made a visit to the female Chinese blogger who lost her left arm in a road accident on the way from Bangkok to Koh Chang. The story has produced another firestorm of criticism in Chinese social media with headlines like “Don’t go to Thailand”. The…
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Pabuk: Vietnam Air Services call off flights in southern Vietnam
The Vietnam Air Services has adjusted flights between Ho Chi Minh City and Can Tho city, and Con Dao island in the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau due to storm ‘Pabuk’. Flights from Can Tho to Con Dao, along with nine flights between Ho Chi Min City and the island on January 2 and 3 have been cancelled.…
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Phuket ‘Seven Days of Danger ‘ – final toll of six deaths
PHOTO: Sad death of a one month old in an accident on Thepkasttri Road, four days ago According to statistics issued by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Phuket Office, the island registered 4 accidents, 5 injuries and zero deaths on the final day (January 2) of the annual seven day road and marine safety campaign – the Seven…
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Pabuk: Moving past the southern coast of Vietnam
Vietnam has experienced heavy rainfall and strong winds as Pabuk hovers off the southern coast heading into the Gulf of Thailand. vnexpress.net reports that, as of Wednesday, tropical storm ‘Pabuk’ was stationed around 360 kilometers (223 miles) to the southeast of Con Dao Island off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau, with wind speeds of up to 75 kilometers…
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PABUK: Latest information on the path of the storm across the Gulf
Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada has designated six seaside districts of the central southern coast province as disaster zones and ordered the evacuation of residents by tonight. The evacuations are a safety precaution he said. He says that all schools in these districts will be closed today, while schools in the main city area of Nakhon Si Thammarat will…
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Dead whale washed up on Nakhon Si Thammarat coast
A dead whale, believed to be a bruda whale, the largest species in the Gulf of Thailand, has been found washed up on a beach near the Laem Talumphuk reserve, Amphoe Pak Phanang in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. The dead mammal was spotted this morning by villagers who noticed the strong smell. The whale measured over 10…
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