PHUKET: Srisoonthorn Municipal engineers today visited homes in Baan Bangkham in Thalang to survey the damage caused by yesterday’s earthquake. Assistant village headman Somnuek Jaturacoopkullapong reported today that the earthquake, felt by most Phuket residents yesterday, damaged more than 30 houses in the village, four severely. “We were inside at about 4:30pm when we heard a loud noise and then the house shook for about four seconds.
PHUKET: The eight small earthquakes that have rocked Phuket over the past 24 hours are most likely related to the much larger earthquakes off the coast of Sumatra last week, experts from the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) said. The latest quake, which hit at 12:18pm today, was the largest of the group with a magnitude of 3.1 on the Richter scale, according to preliminary data released by the TMD website.
PHUKET: Reports of an earthquake being felt across all parts of Phuket are flooding in to the Phuket Gazette. Gazette staff felt the strong shudder at 4:45pm. Reports of other Phuket residents experiencing the same have been coming in from all parts of the island, including Chalong to the south, Phuket Town and Kathu in the center of the island and Kamala on the west coast.
PHUKET: A long-awaited plan to reverse the direction of one-way traffic flow in Patong should go into effect in June, as soon public hearings and work to complete a new roundabout at the north end of the beach road is completed, local officials say. Phunsak Naksena, Patong Municipality Chief Administrative Officer, or “Palad”, said the public-hearing process to approve the project was nearing its conclusion, with initial indications revealing that most residents are in favor of the new scheme.
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Office will provide special “souvenir” shirts for Cabinet ministers and VIPs attending the Cabinet meeting in Phuket on March 19-20. Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirak announced the decision to have souvenir shirts handed out at a meeting at Phuket City Hall last Thursday. The main points were the shirt style, color, pattern and the number of shirts to be given to the Cabinet and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to wear during the Cabinet meeting, V/Gov Somkiat said.
PHUKET: A high-level board delegation representing Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT), including six directors of major airports in Thailand, met yesterday at Phuket International Airport to discuss strategies to place Thailand in the top 10 of Asia’s aviation hubs. In line with AOT’s aspirations for Thailand to become a regional aviation hub, the current expansion planned project to expand Phuket International Airport was also discussed.
PHUKET: Customs officers seized a parcel containing ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) last week from a transportation company in Rassada, north of Phuket Town. The drugs had an estimated a street value of more than 150,000 baht
PHUKET: Time for an update on how Phuket’s doing for real world, measured international internet speeds.
PHUKET: Following a spate of snatch thefts, the Phuket Tourist Police Foreign Volunteers today issued an advisory warning tourists to keep close watch on their valuables and be on the lookout for potential bag-snatchers. Bruce Anderson, Team Leader of the Phuket Tourist Police Foreign Volunteers, told the Phuket Gazette that there have been more bag snatchings reported by foreign tourists in the past week. Culprits tend to target women with shoulder bags or handbags.
PHUKET: A Phuket teenager returning from school was killed yesterday when he lost control of his motorbike and hit the back of a pickup truck parked by the side of the road in Srisoonthorn. Thalang Police were notified of the accident at 5:20pm.