Thai authorities declared several areas in Phuket Island as disaster zones due to flooding caused by heavy and continuous rainfall, which resulted in rising water levels threatening homes and roads with flooding.
The affected areas included neighborhoods in Mueang District, as well as the tourist areas of Karon and Patong, which experienced damage due to rainwater flow and rising water levels.
The Bangkok Post reported that the Phuket Municipality issued a red flood alert on the morning of October 29, urging residents and business owners along the Bang Yai canal to move their possessions, electrical appliances, and valuables to higher ground in anticipation of rising water and canal overflow.
As part of precautionary measures, official agencies began monitoring at-risk areas in coordination with relevant institutions, while Karon Municipality temporarily closed one road due to flooding and Chalong Municipality advised road users to exercise caution while traveling.
For its part, the Thai Meteorological Department warned of ongoing weather fluctuations, predicting thunderstorms with a 70% chance of rain on the southwestern coast, with very heavy rainfall in parts of Phuket, noting varied intensity of rainfall in nine southern provinces.
The department attributed these conditions to a low-pressure area over the Andaman Sea and easterly winds affecting Thailand and the Gulf of Thailand, coinciding with the extension of a cold air mass from China towards the northern part of the country and the South China Sea, warning that wave heights could exceed two meters during thunderstorms.