CLIMATE Wild weather batters Gulf provinces POST REPORTERS Strong winds and high waves continued to batter provinces mostly in the Gulf of Thailand, extensively damaging fishing communities, shutting down ferry services and causing a freight ship tortu aground Another casualty was a Chinese tourist, identified as Su Ji Shen, 64, who drowned when a speedboat she was in sank off Krabi on the Andaman coast on Sunday. The rough weather was the result of an intense storm which has hit both coasts and brought a new cold spelltothe country over the past few days, Chatchai Promler, director general of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, said the storm lashed Gulf coastal provinces, extending all the way from Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Songkhla down to Narathiwat. Beachfronthouses and roads were dam- aged by strong pounding waves. Residents were evacuated to safety and given food and shelter, Waves in the Gull were measured up to four metres high as authorities ordered small boatsto stay on shore. Insurat Thani, 10 seafront houses and a jetty on Koh Tao were damaged, but there were moinjuries.