In Memory of Tropical Storm Harriet 25th October 1962 at Laem Talumphuk - แหลมตะลุมพุก 25 ตุลาคม 2505

As the rainy season is here it's time to be thinking about the weather and especially the danger that tropical storms present. Luckily in Phuket this year the rainy season, so far, has not brought any major storms, although we have had some strong winds and heavy rain.

On this note that I want to mention the Tropical Storm Harriet that took the lives of over 1000 people and leaving over 16,000 homeless in the village at Laem Talumphuk. I was one year old and safe in England at the time, but I can imagine the extent of the disaster as it was probably of a similar level to that of the 2004 tsunami here in Phuket. Back in 1962 disaster relief was not as efficient as it is now, and certainly disaster preparation was virtually unheard of. So it was today that I watched the Thai film ตะลุมพุก (Talumphuk) that in turn made me curious to find out a bit more, and lead me to the Laem Talumphuk facebook page (in Thai) which has some links and photos for anyone who is interested:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/haelm-talumphuk/372762885721?v=wall#!/note.php?note_id=372718285061#comments

and also on Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1962_Pacific_typhoon_season#Tropical_Storm_Harriet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amphoe_Pak_Phanang

and also at:

http://www2.tmd.go.th/webboard/show.php?Category=meteorology&No=7064

http://www.wunderground.com/hurricane/wp196234.asp

However it is worth putting thing into perspective by taking a look at Weather

Underground's list of the 30 Deadliest Tropical Cyclones in History. Clearly Bangladesh has been hit the hardest. It is also worth noting that Cyclone Nargis in 2008 currently ranks 9th.

Hopefully we won't have to experience anything like this again.