Phuket Flooding, Day Three: Warning Extended to Oct 29 as Karon Floods and Patong Cleans Up

Retire In Thailand October 28, 2026



Wednesday, October 28, 2026 — If you've woken up in Phuket this morning to rain on the roof again, you're not imagining it. The island is now in its third straight day of flood weather, the official heavy-rain, flash-flood and landslide warning has been extended through tomorrow, and while Patong is deep into clean-up mode, the water has moved on to bother Karon instead. Here's where things stand, area by area, what's still coming, and what to do if you're on the island right now.

Workers clearing fallen trees and debris from a city street after a storm

What happened today (Oct 28)

The headline news today is an extension, not a new disaster — and on a week like this, that's the good version. According to The Phuket News, Phuket's provincial warning for heavy rain, flash floods, landslides, rockfalls and mudslides — issued under the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act — has been extended through Thursday, October 29. Residents and visitors are being told to keep avoiding flooded roads and slide-prone hillsides, park vehicles somewhere safe, stay out of the sea while waves are high, and keep dry food, drinking water and medicines handy.

The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) issued Warning No. 10 at 5am this morning, forecasting continued rain with isolated heavy downpours across 17 provinces including Phuket, and the Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR) has its own warning running through Oct 29. On top of that, the Hydro-Informatics Institute put out a 24-hour flash-flood watch for Oct 28–29 that specifically names Rawai, in the island's south, as an area at risk.

If your phone has been showing you flood videos all day, a lot of what you're seeing is real and recent. Thai TV's Channel 8 reported today that rain has now fallen on Phuket almost non-stop for more than 15 hours, driven by a low-pressure system sitting in the Andaman Sea only 80–100 km off the island and expected to strengthen — which is why officials spent today openly worrying about a repeat of Monday's flash floods on already-saturated hillsides.

Area by area

Karon and Kata took today's hit. Flooding was reported on Khok Tanode Road in Karon, and Karon Municipality warned that persistent heavy rain combined with high tides could push water over its banks in low-lying areas, particularly around Kata Noi — locals there were advised to lift belongings and appliances off the floor and be ready to cut the power. The Provincial Electricity Authority's Patong branch also announced an emergency outage near Karon Subdistrict Municipality after a high-voltage line came down; crews expected repairs to take three to four hours and warned people to keep well away from the fallen line, as it could still be live.

Patong, the scene of Monday's 3am debris flow, is in recovery mode. Patong Municipality confirmed that Nanai Road and the route to the Khai Muk (Pearl) Roundabout have reopened to normal traffic after mud, rocks and debris were cleared. Clean-up went into its second consecutive day today under the Phuket Royal Volunteer Centre, with about 100 municipal staff and volunteers plus heavy machinery working through Soi Nanai 5 and Soi Nanai 8 — the two lanes hit hardest — clearing homes, shops and roads, and hauling out the rubbish, wood and fallen trees that had been blocking drainage. Drivers are still being asked to take it slowly and follow officials' instructions around the work areas.

Phuket Town is, so far, holding. Phuket City Municipality said water levels stayed within normal limits during inspections today despite rain falling continuously since last night; engineering teams checked the Tha Kraeng Canal at Suan Luang (King Rama IX Park) and the Takua Pa pumping station, pumps are running to speed drainage along, and staff are monitoring key spots around the clock. The city named the window from noon today until 5am tomorrow as the period needing particular vigilance — so tonight is the stretch to be careful in town.

Kamala, just north of Patong, has kept its flash-flood warning in force, with the Subdistrict Administrative Organisation urging residents to avoid flooded routes and move belongings up high. Kamala was inspected by the Deputy Interior Minister on Monday after water came down its hillsides too.

For the wider picture: this all follows Sunday, Oct 25, when the first round of flooding made a section of Thepkrasattri Road near the Thai Watsadu store in Si Sunthon impassable to small vehicles and put water across Phra Phuket Kaew Road and parts of Rawai, Chalong and Choeng Thale, according to Associated Press reporting carried by FTN News. Most of those routes had drained by the following morning — the pattern of this whole week has been water that arrives fast, does its damage, and drains within hours once the rain eases.


Dark storm clouds and rain over Karon beach, Phuket


The numbers behind the week

Monday's event is why everything since has been treated so seriously. In the early hours of Oct 26 — around 3:05am — runoff pouring off Khao 50 Pi turned into a debris flow through Patong's Nanai neighbourhood, carrying boulders, soil and mud through Soi Nanai 5 and Soi Nanai 8 and around the Makro Nanai area, shattering shopfront windows, submerging parked vehicles and filling homes with silt. The Bangkok Post reported damage along both sois, and rainfall reached up to 142.8 mm in 24 hours at the wettest point on the island. Station readings published by The Nation tell the same story from ground level: 117 mm at Ban Na Yai, 94.4 mm at Bang Neaw Dum Reservoir, 93.2 mm in Rawai and 88.2 mm at Bang Wad Dam.

More than 100 households were affected in Patong, and — the fact that matters most — Thai PBS reported no deaths in its preliminary assessment. Damage to homes, shops and businesses has been provisionally estimated at ฿100 million, according to The Phuket News, and Phuket has declared the affected areas an emergency disaster zone. This was Patong's second flood event this month, after heavy rain and a high tide flooded parts of the town on Oct 6.

A geologist's detail worth knowing: inspectors from the Department of Mineral Resources who examined the Nanai 5 slide on Oct 27 found the hill had shed granite boulders 10–60 cm across, and recorded 340.5 mm of accumulated rain at the Kata community weather station. The flow overwhelmed and collapsed a check dam on its way down. That's not ordinary street flooding — one Chulalongkorn University geologist quoted by Thai PBS described it as "mass wasting": once 80–100 mm of rain falls over about three days, the mountain catchments saturate and the hillside itself starts to move.

If you're in Phuket now

  • Roads: Avoid driving or riding through any flooded stretch, full stop — it hides open drains and debris, and most flood injuries here involve motorbikes. Patong's cleared roads are open, but treat hillside routes (Patong hill, the Kamala–Patong road) with real caution while the ground is this wet, and expect localised flooding anywhere after a downpour.
  • The airport: Phuket International Airport remains open and fully operational, per the Tourism Authority of Thailand — the problem is the journey, not the flights. TAT advises arriving 3–4 hours before departure to allow for road delays, and checking your flight status with your airline. Build that buffer in tonight and tomorrow especially.
  • The sea: Stay out of it while warnings are in force. TMD expects waves around a metre, exceeding two metres in thundershower areas, and the provincial advisory explicitly warns against swimming and water activities in strong wind and high waves. Boat trips will be cancelled by operators for good reason — don't shop around for one that isn't.
  • At your hotel or condo: Park on high ground if you can, lift anything valuable off ground floors in low-lying areas, and keep your phone charged — the DDPM has been pushing emergency alerts by Cell Broadcast all week, and sent another Phuket-wide alert on the evening of Oct 27 as heavy rain cells covered the island.
  • Help numbers: DDPM emergency hotline 1784 (24 hours). Patong Municipality's disaster unit can be reached on 076-342600. If you see a downed power line, don't touch it and don't wade near it — report it and keep clear.
  • If your home was damaged (residents): Patong Municipality is accepting flood-relief applications at its Senior Citizens' Club building from Oct 27 to Nov 6, 9am–4:30pm — bring ID, house registration copies and photos of the damage. The government's National Disaster Insurance Project provides an initial ฿10,000 per household, with building cover of up to ฿100,000 per event in total, subject to policy conditions.


Storm clouds and heavy rain over Karon beach, sweeping in from the Andaman Sea


Why this keeps happening

None of this is a freak accident, and officials aren't pretending otherwise. Phuket's west-coast towns sit in bowls at the foot of steep hills; Patong's Khao 50 Pi rises straight behind Nanai. The hills are weathered granite that turns into a sandy, clay-rich soil which drinks in water until it can't hold any more — then it lets go, all at once, down the natural channels. Development does the rest: a hazard model from Kasetsart University cited by Thai PBS flags the foothills of Patong, Kamala and Karon as high-risk, and points at foothill construction, blocked natural waterways and drainage that simply can't swallow 100+ mm in a night.

The response this week suggests the lesson is being taken seriously at last: a new check dam is planned above Nanai, soil-movement monitoring stations are to be installed in high-risk spots, dredging of canals is under way in places like Srisoonthorn, and Phuket's MP has publicly called for a proper overhaul of the island's drainage, warning systems and hillside development rules. Long-term, that's the only fix — October will keep doing this.

The outlook

Tonight is the window to get through. The city's own vigilance period runs to 5am tomorrow, TMD's heaviest-rain warning expires after today, and the provincial and ONWR warnings run through Oct 29. Thai PBS's outlook has rain continuing over Phuket, easing as the week ends around Oct 30 — late October is normally when the southwest monsoon finally lets go of the island, and German agency dpa reporting this week noted the southern rainy season is drawing toward its end. Expect another wet night, improving conditions from tomorrow, and saturated hillsides that stay slide-prone for a few days after the rain stops. We'll update this story as the situation changes — and if you're here, welcome to the real end-of-monsoon Phuket: dramatic, inconvenient, and very nearly over.

A beach with wet sand and calm waves under a cloudy sky after rain

Sources

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