Wednesday 30 March 2011

Koh Samui, Thailand daily weather update; 30th March, 2011

Today's weather;

Samui is dry for the time being, this morning but the wind is still very strong. The rain is supposed to subside slowly and by tomorrow the wind should have subsided as well so hopefully the airport can open either today or tomorrow. Current temp at 7am is 23.5C

Last night saw rain again and over the last 24 hrs 'only' 197mm of rain came down on the already battered island! Plai Laem and Bang Rak are closing in on 26 hrs of no electricity! Strangely enough the phone landline to our house works! Max temp reached 25C

Thanks for all the support and special shouts go out to Aaron and Robin for the donations!! I will get it to good use! Also thanks to all who are hitting the beer buttons!

Another boulder that came down near 'The Cliff' on the road between Chaweng and Lamai

Travel advisory from today's Bangkok Post

Near Centara in downtown Chaweng

The Monkey Road in Bophud or whatever is left of it, photo by Thea Sonnekus

Koh Lanta is looking at some grey clouds this morning and there's also a fairly strong wind, nothing like the Gulf though! Current temp at 7am is 25.2C

Yesterday saw a very wet day on Lanta with rain almost all day but not very hard rain. Only 12mm over 24 hrs. Max temp reached 26.2C

Camille


50 comments:

Lee said...

Hi! We are due to fly out this Friday for that long weekend beach holiday (first time to Samui) we've been dying for for months! The pics are heart-breaking...not quite what we've been day-dreaming about! Should I be re-considering? Will we be able to enjoy the beaches...Fisherman's Village...drive around ring road? We have already booked staying in Bang Por) but will use your site next time, thank you!

Anonymous said...

Hi Camille.
Thanks for a great blog, it is really good to have this days.
We are suppose to come to Koh Samui the 5 april.
Do you think that is ok ore should we go somewhere else??
Will the rain stop and the sun come soon you think??

I love Koh Samui and hope to go there!!

BR
Siri from Norway

Anonymous said...

Any idea if the airport is going to be able to reopen on Sat? I am booked for Nora Buri on April 2, you think things can get better by that time?

Camille said...

Hi Lee,

Looks like this coming Friday may be a bit too early to enjoy Samui at it's fullest. The airport should be open by than but I seriously doubt that all the cleaning up work will be finished by than. Probably difficult to get around as well.

Sorry for not being able to give better news.

Thanks for looking at my site for future reference, it's appreciated.

Camille said...

Hi Siri,

The 5th may be on the edge, cleaning up will still be in process but the rain should have stopped and the sun should be out in full force again!

Camille said...

@ Anonymous,

April 2nd Samui should be in full recovery mode.
Sun should be out again by than.

Hanne said...

Hi,
Thanks for a really nice and informative blogspot. I would like to ask you for advice if it's okay?

We are 4 adults, 3 children going to Samui next week. Staying the first 3 nights inn Samui paradise hotel before we planed to leave for koh tao. I've visit your beautiful Islands before but not the others. Would you recomend us to go somewere else because of the weather conditions?
Best regards,

Hanne

Camille said...

Hi Hanne,

Samui should be in full recovery and clean up mode by next week, however, Koh Tao may need a little bit more time to get sorted. I would play that by ear once you're here before deciding going to Koh Tao.

Camille said...

The airport just re opened today and about 15 or so flights are scheduled to take off and take about 2.000 people to BKK.

Angelee said...

Thanks for your blog! My husband went to his brothers wedding last week in Koh Sumui and is now stuck. Your page is the ONLY thing I could find about what's happening over there!

Camille said...

Glad to be of help! Your brother should be fine!
The airport just opened now.

Brandon said...

My wife and I and some other triathletes are supposed to be racing a triathlon on the island on 24 April. I found your blog by searching for Samui weather. We are currently in Krabi, where it has rained a lot as well.

Do you think that the roads will be driveable/rideable by bicycle in 3 weeks?

Thank You.
-Brandon

Camille said...

Hi Brandon,

By the 24th I expect everything to be in full swing again and the roads will only be more challenging!

Should be fine though.

Take care in Krabi, there are some landslides there.

Anonymous said...

Hi we are due to arrive in samui in 2 weeks time but at the moment the advice appears to be not to travel there - do you know how much longer the rain and flooding are forecast to continue for and what the outlook beyond that is like. Also will the damage to the island stop tourists from arriving and getting around?

Camille said...

Hi,

Samui should be totally fine within two weeks, the last couple of days was when there was a problem, not int ow weeks time!

The airport just opened again today and in two weeks a lot or most clean up work will be completed.

Alan said...

Hi Camile,

I have been following your blog for the last couple of days when I was made aware of the awful weather conditions in Samui at the moment. I've seen the photo's on your blog that show roads washed away and deep flood waters in towns like Chaweng.

My wife and I are due to fly into Koh Samui on the 9th April, and are supposed to be staying at the Bhundari Resort and Spa, just north of Chaweng. We are very concerned about the situation there not only for ourselves but also for the local homes and businesses. We are also concerned about the sanitation issues that go hand in hand with flooding.

Are the pictures on your blog representative of the whole island or is it just a small section that has the roads washed away for example. If its like that everywhere, then I'm not sure that it would be such a good idea for my wife and I to go there at the moment. Do you know what the area around the Bhundari Resort is like? Would we be able to get there from the airport. Also, would we be able to get around the island safely? We aren't the sort of people who want to just sit in a hotel complex and then leave, we want to explore the island but are concerned that this might not be possible due to the effects of the weather on the roads etc.

I would appreciate any advice on this as we may need to make alternate arrangements as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance

Alan

Camille said...

Hi Allan,

By the 9th April Samui will be in full clean up mode or almost be done cleaning up.

The Bhundari is just around the corner of the airport and is build on a hill, on high ground, only a landslide might cause a problem there! The airport opened again today.

The roads should be accessible again by than.

Hanne said...

Hi,

Thank you for taking time to answer my questions, and when you say it's okay we are looking forward to visit you island next week!

Best regards,
Hanne

Dark Mavis said...

Hi Camille,

Thanks for operating such a great blog! Your posts & photos are very helpful to let us get updated on the current situation.

I will be going back there 4 - 9 Apr & staying at Laem Set Beach this time. We planned to drive by ourselves through out the whole trip. Do you think it is safe for us to do so?
We will pick up car at airport at night then drive to hotel at Laem Set which we haven't been before...
And our hotel is a bit far from most of the site seeing spots...

Thanks in advance!

p.s. I love this island and hope everything get recover soon!

Best Wishes,
Mavis

Camille said...

Hi Hanne,

Hope you will enjoy your time on Samui!!

Gary said...

Hi Camille I'm leaving for Koh Samui from UK today just like to say thanks for your info. my flight from bangkok to samui is thurs night but i'm not to worried if i cant fly thurs night i can stay with a friend in bangkok for a few nights i was there in oct/nov when is was nearly as bad so i know what to expect and ill still have a great time i know :-) again thanks for the updates

Anonymous said...

Hi Camille

Do you know anything about the conditions on koh phangan? Koh Samui and Koh tao is well represented in the news, but not much is said about koh phangan. I'm flying to koh phangan a week and a half from now...
I'd appreciate some helpful hints.

Camille said...

Hi Gary,

This is a big one! The airport opened today so you might be able to get in.

Camille said...

Koh Phangan has seen some serious flooding as well. In a week and a half they should be almost finished with their cleaning up process I would imagine.

Alan said...

Hi Camille,

Thanks for the very quick reply.

One thing that wasn't clear from your reply was if the roads between the airport and the Bhundari are currently blocked or not. Do you have this information?

I'm slightly concerned about the prospect of a landslide at the hotel. I tried to contact them yesterday to see if they are experiencing any significant problems but I have not yet had a reply. Have you heard anything?

Is the weather forecast due to improve? I've only seen the forecast for the next 2-3 days but we are not due to arrive for another 10 days

Thanks again

Alan

Camille said...

Hi Alan,

The road between the airport and the Bhundari should be fine, it’s on high ground.

A landslide in that magnitude has not occurred yet on Samui. The Bhundari is fine as we’re speaking.

The weather is to improve starting this weekend. Next week sunshine again, hard to believe right now ;-)

Hope this helps for now.

Lois said...

Hi Camille , I have been following your blog and cant beleive the weather in Samui at the moment, I do hope that you and your family and everyone on Samui are safe and that the weather clears up soon. I am actually due to fly out to Samui a week on Friday but just not sure of whether I will be able to, so your blog is really helping me get an understanding of what is going on, I really do hope that I get to across to the beautiful Island of Samui. Stay safe

Lois

Camille said...

Hi Lois,

In a week things should be in the middle of a clean up I would expect right now. Over the weekend the weather is supposed to clear up and sunshine should be ours again!

Anonymous said...

Hello,
I have 2 friend in Koh Samui right now.
Could you tell me if the airoport is open now please?

Thanks a lot for your blog!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Camille,

Your blog gives the best available infor about what is happening in Koh Samui at the moment! I was wondering if you could advise me on the weather in Phuket. I am arriving there on 4th April and it has been the flood warming announced there two days ago. Do you think it is save to go there?

Thank you very much,
Agata

Anonymous said...

Hi Camille,
Thanks a lot for this blog. It's really helpfull.
I have friends in Koh Tao. Do you have information about this island?
Are there any boats to help them getting to the airoport friday to catch their flight ?

Thanks a lot,
Leila

Anonymous said...

Hey Camille!
I really appreciate your time and effort put into this, you have given me plenty of information!
We're flying out tomorrow, do you think we would be able to fly out?
Many thanks! And I hope your family and you stay safe!
Good luck!

Jerry

Camille said...

The airport just opened earlier today again.

Camille said...

Hi Agata,

Please check my friend Jamie for his Phuket weather blog, go to my 'pages' link, on top of my blog page, top left corner, click on it and look for Phuket weather blog.

Camille said...

Hi Leila,

Just posted an update about Koh Tao, hope that helped.

Lois said...

Thanks for your reply Camille I really appreciate it I do hope that you are all OK on Samui, it will be a tough journey to get things back to normal but I hope all goes well with the process. With the prospect of sunshine on its way that will give everyone a least a bit of hope.

Kindest regards take care
Lois

Camille said...

Thanks for your support Lois, it's much appreciated!

Alan said...

Hi Camille,

Thanks for your help. We fly out to Bangkok on Saturday so I'll hopefully be able to keep an interested eye on your blog over the next few days to see what the weather is like.

Keep up the good work.

Alan

Camille said...

Hi Alan,

Please keep checking in and good luck with your travels!

Camille said...

Hi Jerry,

The airport just opened today, even if you are able to fly in, you will find an island in total disarray and all the shelves in the supermarkets are empty. It will take a few days to sort the biggest things out and get everything re-stocked again.

Unknown said...

I have 2 friends in Koh Tao , I haven't heard from them in a couple of days and saw in the news that the navy was evacuating people from Koh Tao, do you know where they would be taking them. Is there any other site I can go to find out more information on these people?

Camille said...

Lucy,

Apparently people are brought to Chumpon. No idea where you can find specific information, sorry.

Anonymous said...

Hey Camille,

Thanks for helping out. We had a trip planned with 4 days on Koh Tao and 4 days on Koh Samui. The Koh Tao bit we have already cancelled, but are hoping to reschedule our flights to Koh Samui to the 5th, and staying to the 9th. You state that by then the rebuilding process should be well under way, but what is the state of the hotels and the beaches? We are booked in at the Bhundari ocean villas on chaweng. Do you think it would be worth going this early, or is it still all a mess, with debris on the beaches and disrupted traffic?

Kind Regards

Maria & Claes

Camille said...

Hi Maria & Claes,

The Bhundari is fine, it's build on a hill and the only potential danger there would be landslide. The hotel is not known for it's beach anyway but most beaches might have debris, I don't know how the clean up work will be detailed and what will get priority.

Daniel said...

Hi Camille

Thanks for the weather update in your blog! it's very informative. I'm planning to go to Samui in early May but now i'm worrying about the flooding and the bad weather by that time. I know it's hard to predict how the weather will be in early May but I saw pictures of the ruined roads, electricity cut and the diasterous situation in Koh Toh which made me think that it might not be a good time to travel to Samui in May. As it takes time to do the reconstruction and reclamation in the islands, do you think it would be better to defer my schedule of visiting? As you have spent your days living there, you may have a better idea how bad the situation is and how the government responses to the reconstruction. Hope to hear your view on this and appreciate to hear from you soon.

Cheers

Daniel

Camille said...

Hi Daniel,

In a month time everything should be up and running again, no real reason to worry in my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Hi Camille
Thanks so much again for all the info you have been putting up here for us all. It is much appreciated. I really hope everything recovers quickly. Just wondering if you knew anything about the Baan Samui Resort in Chaweng and how much damage it had to it? Any info would be much appreciated.
Cheers, Kylie

Camille said...

Hi Kylie,

Unfortunately I don't have any info on individual hotels.

Karen said...

Hi, Supposed to arrive in Koh Samui on April 15 with the family. Staying at the Outrigger in Bophut......what do u suggest? should i cancel Koh samui?
i am so worried about the flooding....we are travelling with young kids.....any advice would be greatly appreciated.....

Camille said...

Hi Karen,

I can understand your worries but I would expect the situation in Bophud to be under control come the 15th April.