Phuket in the Andaman Sea faced flooding, while Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand suffered from water shortages that lasted for months. Two important tourist destinations have been threatened, causing a serious crisis in Thailand's tourism.
Thai media said that Koh Samui is facing severe water shortages, and the prolonged drought has caused the reservoir to dry up quickly. While Phuket in the Andaman Sea is facing flooding, Koh Samui in the Gulf of Thailand remains short of water. Water shortages were already reported during the Songkran festival in Thailand last April, and despite the return of the rainy season, water shortages continue to worsen.
In Koh Samui, reservoirs near major towns with a capacity of 800,000 cubic metres are currently only 10 percent full and are expected to last only two weeks. The Krajood reservoir has only 25% of its capacity, which is only enough for about 30 days. Although there are still about 2 million cubic meters of water in the Chaweng reservoir, it is brackish and unusable.
The Koh Samui provincial water department has adopted a zoning system to distribute tap water, but residents in several districts have complained that there has been no water for nearly a week. A food seller in Lamai Beach said she spends 300 baht every other day to buy water from a private water dispenser, which is about 4,500 baht per month. She added that her home had been left with little running water for three days.
Amnart Chotecchang, a member of the Surat Thani Provincial Administrative Organization (PAO), said: "The PAO proposed to the Prime Minister's High-Level Working Group to develop a budget, estimated at about 2.5 billion baht, for the construction of a second pipeline to transport water from the mainland to the island. The first pipeline provides an average of 19,000 cubic metres of water per day, but it is not enough to meet the needs of agriculture and tourism.
Koh Samui also suffered from water shortages this time last year, and these tourist destinations were unable to cope with drought or flooding, which must have been one of the reasons why Thailand dropped 11 places in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) "Travel and Tourism: Development Index 2024" report.
Chairman of the Koh Samui Tourism Association, Ratchaporn Poonsawat, said that water scarcity may lead to increased tourism costs as property owners have to buy fresh water. The additional water charges may also affect hotel staff on the island, as the lack of water supply will lead to an increase in the cost of living for staff. As resources decrease, costs will gradually increase.
At the same time, Phuket is working to install water pumps as there will be flooding from July 4 to 8. This island province is a tourist gem of Thailand that attracts many international tourists but is unable to cope with flooding. Many residents have complained about the slow removal of sediment and tree branches that have blocked rural roads and waterways since last week's massive flooding.
They said they would face further flooding this week if the wreckage was not removed quickly. Last week, about 330 mm of rain fell in Phuket in a short period of time, triggering widespread flooding. Weerapong Kerdsin, Dean of the School of Technology and Environment, Prince of Songkla University Phuket Campus, said: "In addition to the unusually high amount of precipitation, the uncontrolled expansion of the city is also responsible for the lack of sea discharge. ”
He also attributed the loss of forest cover that absorbs rainwater to the worsening of flooding on the island. The endless appetite of property developers is working against them. The Phuket governor said the changing landscape had led to flooding problems. A major clean-up operation was organized locally on July 1 to restore the areas affected by Sunday's flooding.
Persistent rain on Sunday caused flooding and disasters in the Kathu and Thalang districts of Phuket. Phuket Governor Sophon Suwannarat declared the two areas disaster areas in need of emergency assistance. A total of 1,468 people are still affected or have been affected by the floods. This has caused considerable damage to human life, health, property, housing, farmland, fisheries, livestock and public facilities.
The affected area covers 7 sub-districts, 41 villages, 4 communities, and 740 households. Although the situation in most areas began to return to normal on 1 July, the areas of the Thepkrasattri sub-district remained flooded. 45 people from 50 households were affected in Kathu district and 1,423 people from 690 households in Talang district. On Monday, volunteers cleared streets and houses to quickly return to normal.
The governor stressed the importance of monitoring flood areas and taking appropriate measures, as the construction of many housing developments has led to changes in flood locations. Additional water pumps were installed to speed up drainage. Rainfall amounted to 310 mm, causing severe flooding due to narrow drainage channels. Phuket Province continues to operate an emergency command center and closely monitor the situation.
Affected residents are urged to seek help from local governments and take precautions to prevent health hazards and power problems in flooded buildings. Prachachat reported that multiple real estate projects were affected, some of which are still flooded. Some residents said that the townhouse they bought had suffered eight floods in five years.