Yesterday a 42 year old Swiss tourist was saved from drowning after he went swimming in 4 meter high waves despite the fact that red flags were up along the beach warning about the bad water conditions. The person drifted at least 1 kilometer along the beach before he was rescued by Thai hotel staff using a jet ski.
During the monsoon season the East coast of the island, Chaweng and Lamai can have rough beaches with high waves and there is a warning system in place, by means of color coded flags. A red flag means it's dangerous. For your own sake, follow and obey the warnings, since you are literally playing with your own life if you decide to ignore the warnings.
Too many people die each year around Thai beaches, including here on Koh Samui, because warnings have been ignored, Do not become a statistic.
Another dangerous phenomena that can happen at Samui beaches during monsoon are rip currents and undertows. They are part of the problem that each year, yes you read correctly, each year, people die on Samui beaches.
Unfortunately most of the time these are older people who underestimate the power of the water and their own strength but also younger and strong people are among the victims. EACH YEAR!
If you are caught in a rip current, don't fight the current, either let yourself be drawn out and swim back around the current or swim perpendicular to the current and swim back to safety.
There are also warning signs for rip currents on our beaches, please abide to them for your own safety or know what to do when caught in a rip current.
The undertows on the beaches here can be very strong and eventually may form rip currents; Undertows are below-surface rushes of water returning to sea after the water comes ashore as breaking waves. If there is an area under the waves where water can flow back out to sea more easily (such as a break in a sand bar) then a narrow rip current can form. (A rip current is much more powerful and thus more hazardous to inexperienced people than ordinary undertow.) If however there is no weak point in the surf line, then the water that has run up onto the beach simply flows back out to sea under the waves, forming a simple undertow.
Be careful out there during the monsoon or rainy season, especially November up mid December can be dangerous and don't drown during your holiday to our lovely island!
Don't forget to use my Camille's Samui hotel recommendation blog and my Camille's Thailand hotel recommendation blog for all your hotel bookings on Koh Samui and around Thailand. By doing so, you will support my blog. Thanks folks!
Camille
2 comments:
Good post Camille, although the people that need to be told this won't read it! Too many stupid people out there, not only here, they don't realise how powerful the sea and tide is. And the people who rescue them put themselves at risk. Still raining here!! (:
Agree Lizzy,
Those who need this warning most likely won't read this.
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