Tropical Storm Pabuk hits
\nTourist destinations Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao islands expected to be affected
\nnews desk
\nBANGKOK
\nThailand\u2019s first tropical storm in three decades, packing winds of up to 80 kph (50 mph), is expected to make landfall on Friday evening, sending thousands of people flocking to shelter inland and shutting down two major airports.
\nThe winds accompanying tropical storm Pabuk churned up high waves and gusts in the Gulf of Thailand, ahead of its arrival in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
\nWeather officials warned of torrential downpours and strong winds in 15 provinces in the Thai south, home to one of the world\u2019s largest natural rubber plantations and several islands thronged by tourists.
\n\u201cThe strong winds are forecast with waves up to 3 to 5 meters high in the Gulf and 2 to 3 meters high in the Andaman Sea. All ships (should) keep ashore,\u201d the Thai Meteorological Department said in a statement early on Friday.
\nThe conditions would persist into Saturday, it added.
\nOver the past few days, 6,176 people have been evacuated to shelters from Nakhon Si Thammarat as well as the provinces of Pattani, Songkhla and Yala, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation has said.
\nThe Nakhon Si Thammarat airport announced it had closed, and low-cost Nok Airlines Pcl said it had canceled all eight flights to and from the province.
\nThe Surat Thani airport will also close from Friday afternoon to Saturday, canceling flights by Nok Airlines, Lion Air, and Thai Smile, a subsidiary of national carrier Thai Airways.
\nEarlier, Bangkok Airways Pcl also announced it had canceled all flights to and from the holiday destination of Koh Samui, where ferry services have also been suspended.
\nNational energy company PTT Exploration and Production said it had suspended operations at Bongkot and Erawan, two of the country\u2019s biggest gas fields in the Gulf of Thailand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Tropical Storm Pabuk hits Tourist destinations Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao islands expected to be affected news desk BANGKOK Thailand\u2019s first tropical storm in three decades, packing winds of up to 80 kph (50 mph), is expected to make landfall on Friday evening, sending thousands of people flocking to shelter inland and shutting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43984,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n