Tidal creek (about ~1.5 km long) on the West coast of Phra Thong Island.

Naucrates staff visited Phra Thong Island, for the first time after the tsunami, on the 25 th of May 05. The impact of the tsunami on the coastal environment is evident. While some areas were hit strongly, changing the physiognomy of the coast, other areas were hit with less violence and impact.

During this visit particular attention was given to the tidal creek (See first photo) next to the project base. While it was not evaluated scientifically the impact of the tsunami is evident. The mechanic action of the wave, sedimentation and high salinity have killed most of the trees.

A brief assessment was made inside the tidal creek at low tide. It was noted that a lot of debris (See second photo), transported by the wave, has been entangled into the vegetation. Materials from the resorts (Golden Buddha Beach and Kratom Moken) that were completely washed away, is now accumulated inside the creek (See last photo).

First thoughts of Naucrates staff (Monica and Claudio) were that it is very sad and quite inappropriate to leave such large amounts of debris in the natural environment. It is now the rainy season and hopefully some of the trees will recover. In so doing the debris would remain forever.