Today’s alert is the 12th iteration of the initial warning that was posted on Saturday, forecasting heavy rain and strong wind and waves along the Andaman seaboard.
Waves are expected to reach up to three metres high as the strong southwest monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, the South and the Gulf of Thailand, the warning notes.
“All ships should proceed with caution, and small boats keep ashore. People along the coast should beware of inshore surges,” TMD Director-General Wanchai Sakudomchai urged in the warning.
“In the South, there is heavy rain in some areas. People in that areas should be careful of flood from heavy rain,” he added.
The heavy weather is forecast to continue until Thursday (July 12).
The strong wind and waves are likely to hamper efforts by divers in lifting the stricken Phoenix off the seabed where it lies some 1.5 nautical miles off Koh Hei (Coral Island), south of Phuket, in order to recover one body still trapped under the wreck.
Meanwhile, the search area yesterday was expanded to include Phi Phi Island and officials as far as away as Koh Lanta and even in Trang were alerted to start scouring the beaches for bodies, (Se story here.)