4 November 1989

Typhoon Gay cuts swath of destruction; more than 500 dead

With gusting winds of up to 120kmph, Typhoon Gay cut a swath of destruction over a radius of 50km as it roared ashore from the Gulf of Thailand, leaving a trail of death and devastation from Bang Saphan Noi in Prachuap Khiri Khan to Tha Sae and Pathio districts in Chumphon.

The typhoon flattened houses and schools, uprooted trees and power poles, damaged crops, and rendered roads impassable.

The town of Tha Sae, home to 40,000 people, looked as if it had been bombed. ‘We saw with our own eyes our houses being torn off piece by piece. I have never seen anything so frightening,’ said Sangiam Chavapanont, village chief of Tambon Na Kratam.

Four days after the storm some villagers in the worst-hit areas staged protests. They claimed they had yet to receive any government aid and expressed their discontent at Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan’s assessment of the disaster’s magnitude. Interior Ministry figures stated that 529 people were killed, 508 boats sunk, 894 government buildings damaged, 400 public schools wrecked and 29,518 houses destroyed—leaving 158,605 people homeless.

4 November 1989

Typhoon Gay cuts swath of destruction; more than 500 dead

With gusting winds of up to 120kmph, Typhoon Gay cut a swath of destruction over a radius of 50km as it roared ashore from the Gulf of Thailand, leaving a trail of death and devastation from Bang Saphan Noi in Prachuap Khiri Khan to Tha Sae and Pathio districts in Chumphon.

The typhoon flattened houses and schools, uprooted trees and power poles, damaged crops, and rendered roads impassable.

The town of Tha Sae, home to 40,000 people, looked as if it had been bombed. ‘We saw with our own eyes our houses being torn off piece by piece. I have never seen anything so frightening,’ said Sangiam Chavapanont, village chief of Tambon Na Kratam.

Four days after the storm some villagers in the worst-hit areas staged protests. They claimed they had yet to receive any government aid and expressed their discontent at Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan’s assessment of the disaster’s magnitude. Interior Ministry figures stated that 529 people were killed, 508 boats sunk, 894 government buildings damaged, 400 public schools wrecked and 29,518 houses destroyed—leaving 158,605 people homeless.