Strong waves as high as four meters continued to hit southern coastal provinces along the Gulf of Thailand Saturday, scattering and sinking small fishing boats and leaving many villagers homeless, a Thai News Agency report said.

 

In Surat Thani province, a seven-kilometer stretch of the Sai Kaew beach, a popular destination among foreign tourists, was swept by waves Friday, wiping out 30 fishermen's homes and two restaurants. Three fishing boats were destroyed and even coral reefs were damaged.

 

In Songkhla province, villagers living along the seashore prepared to evacuate as high waves continued to lash the coast. A number of houses were destroyed and the weather service warned of continuing strong waves in the Gulf for one or two more days, the report said.

 

Thailand's National Disaster Warning Center chief Smith Tumsaroch said that the high waves were triggered by a cool air mass moving south from China, and that they were likely to continue until early January. The hardest hit provinces are expected to be those along the southern coast.

 

Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department warned Saturday that the current cold wave would continue to affect all regions except the South. The lowest temperature in several northern provinces would likely be between 7-8 degrees Celsius while it would decline as much as a further 3 degrees at the mountains.

 

The department urged the public to keep warm and to stay away from the open air.

 

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2006)