 Thailand - Phuket after the tsunami !!!!
Category: Divesite (By Danny Van Belle on Saturday, February 12, 2005)
Was there: Jan, Feb 2005
Most of the divesites are still in very good condition.
The daytrip destinations are pretty OK with only damage to Bungalow bay at Racha Yai. Also at sharkpoint some sponges and table corals did not survive the tsunami but damage is minimal.
At the Similan islands most of the divesites are OK.
These which are not OK are /
The divesites around Koh Bangu(island nr 9) are with exeption of the northeast and east side completely destroyed. Divesites like 'Snapper alley' and 'Breakfast Bend' aren't there anymore. On the east side 'The hideaway' is still good with some minor damage. Also the north east side near 'Rocky point' is still very nice.
At most of the divesites at the northern and southern tips of the islands some damage is visible especially to the tablecorals. Still many tablecorals are OK and marinelife is abundant. Severely hit is also 'Bird Rock' especially at the northeast side at island nr 6.
Up north at Koh Bon and Richelieu rock no visible damage.
Koh Tachai however has been damaged also at 'The plateau'.
Around Koh Surin the damage is serious.
The southern destinations 'Hin Daeng' and 'Hin Muang' are untouched. The divesites I visited around 'Koh Ha' were also good without damage.
I only dived at 'Koh Bida Nai','Koh Bida Nok' and 'Hin Bida' near Phi Phi islands and these divesites were very well OK.
Recently I worked togheter with CTV (Canadian Television) to bring a neutral view of the situation. I'm not connected to any diveshop and also have no profit by making this report. I've been visiting the divesites personally after the tsunami and have logged over 1500 dives in southern Thailand previously.
DANNY VAN BELLE - BELGIUM
WINNER 'GOLDEN FIN' AT THE WORLD FESTIVAL OF UNDERWATER IMAGES ANTIBES 2004 AND WINNER OF MANY INTERNATIONAL AWARDS AT UNDERWATER FILMFESTIVALS WORLDWIDE. |