Keithambrose Posted 12 hours ago Posted 12 hours ago 5 hours ago, PeterRS said: I regret I totally disagree with @vinapu. Granted this year the rainfall problem that has devastated many Asian countries with Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka the worst hit has been unusually high. The Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam are not far behind in terms of rainfall and destruction. But it is certainly not the first time the south has ben flooded. This from The Nation - Recent severe flooding in Hat Yai is yet another wake-up call that Thailand remains unprepared to cope with climate change. This is not the first time the South has been devastated – similar floods struck Hat Yai in 2000 and 2010, and other regions have suffered from extreme weather. Yet, despite these warnings, preparedness remains inadequate. The latest deluge dumped 635 millimetres of rain in three days, submerging central Hat Yai, stranding thousands of residents and tourists, and once again we saw how extreme weather is becoming more frequent and damaging. https://www.nationthailand.com/the-opinion/commentary/40058777 And as @floridarob pointed out some posts ago - The increasing severity of cyclones is certainly partly due to the oceans getting warmer. With the feeble attempts by the world's governments even to acknowledge and then do something about global warming, it is only going to get worse. And that inevitably means that annual flooding will increase. Forget this being a once in a 300 year event. It is bound to happen more frequently, although perhaps - I only suggest perhaps - at not such a level of severity. As for retirement in Hat Yai, I would think long and hard before moving there. I experienced the massive flooding in Bangkok in 2011. I would never wish to go through that again - and my condo was hardly affected. The effect of global warming and the resultant warming of the oceans has other undesirable consequences. As has been known now for nearly a decade but rarely mentioned by the Thai authorities,warmer waters resulted in the deadly Australian box jellyfish arriving off Thai waters. Already a few Thais and tourists have been killed through their stings. The numbers being caught in fishermen's nets indicate that this problem is only going to get worse. Box jellyfish! That's not going to help tourism! "A few tourists killed", if true, that has been kept quiet. Quote
PeterRS Posted 12 hours ago Author Posted 12 hours ago 17 minutes ago, Keithambrose said: Box jellyfish! That's not going to help tourism! "A few tourists killed", if true, that has been kept quiet. This has been known for at least a decade. I first read about it in a long article in the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. I expected to see something in the Bangkok Post - but nothing. It has occasionally been reported that a small number of tourists have died when swimming off Phuket and also Koh Samui. Many hotels have put up nets, allegedly to ensure the safety of guests from sharks!! I don't go to the beach much now but whenever I do i always have a small bottle of vinegar with me and the number of the nearest hospital on my phone. Even the most recent Bangkok Post article about it merely mentions mild stings - and there are not so many of them. Most are deadly. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3121822/phuket-lifeguards-treating-many-tourists-for-jellyfish-stings#google_vignette Quote
Keithambrose Posted 1 hour ago Posted 1 hour ago 10 hours ago, PeterRS said: This has been known for at least a decade. I first read about it in a long article in the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. I expected to see something in the Bangkok Post - but nothing. It has occasionally been reported that a small number of tourists have died when swimming off Phuket and also Koh Samui. Many hotels have put up nets, allegedly to ensure the safety of guests from sharks!! I don't go to the beach much now but whenever I do i always have a small bottle of vinegar with me and the number of the nearest hospital on my phone. Even the most recent Bangkok Post article about it merely mentions mild stings - and there are not so many of them. Most are deadly. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3121822/phuket-lifeguards-treating-many-tourists-for-jellyfish-stings#google_vignette I learnt about box jellyfish when in Northern Queensland. We were told that there are many different species, of which only a few can be fatal. Most of the others are merely extremely painful! I'm not keen to investigate which is which! The most venomous can kill within 2 to 3 minutes, hardly any time to get your vinegar out, but it seems that these cases are rare, luckily. Just one more reason to avoid the sea in Pattaya. Quote
