Tourists return to Phuket, Bali beaches as giant waves subside

Bangkok, May 21 (UNI) Tourists and locals returned today to the famous beaches of Phuket in south Thailand and Bali in Indonesia which were shut over the weekend after being pounded by dangerously high waves.

Waves up to seven metres high were recorded in Indonesia last week and the beaches of Phuket were slammed by three to four metre-high waves.

One person was killed and thousands of people forced to leave their homes in Indonesia.

According to weather experts, the high, waves which revived memories of the devastating December 2004 tsunami, were the result of a combination of factors including strong monsoon winds.

The European Space Agency reported that the waves originated thousands of kilometres away, south of Africa.

European scientists had tracked the waves by satellite as these headed north eastward hitting first Reunion Island on May 12, then Madagascar, Maldives, Thailand and Indonesia.

The European Space Agency said the huge waves were produced by severe storm winds in the Southern Ocean on May 8.

UNI