Phuket: Karon orders evacuation below Wat Kata, Patong shelters open

What changed since 27 October?

Two days after mudslides shut roads in Patong, disruption has spread along the west coast of Phuket. Karon Municipality posted an evacuation warning at 12.24 pm on 29 October 2026 for addresses at the foot of the hill behind Wat Kata, Thai media reported. In Patong, new run-off and landslides damaged property and pushed people in high-risk spots into shelters, the same outlets said.

Who is asked to leave in Karon, and where should they go?

The notice lists streets, not a whole sub-district: Soi Patak 2, Soi Patak 4 and Soi Patak 6. Residents and guests there were asked to move to a safe place or to one of two assembly points. The municipality calls the order precautionary, based partly on a landslide-risk study mapping possible mudflow paths; no new slip has been reported at the site. The zone does take in the slope that failed on 23 August 2024 behind Wat Kata, when 13 people died and 19 were injured.

• Baan Kata School (Trithat Uppatham), Karon
• Wat Suwan Khiri Khet, also called Wat Karon

Is Patong still accessible?

Partly. Soil and rocks came down on Na Nai 3 Road and the road is closed; Patong Municipality told people in high-risk areas to move into shelters. Mayor Lalita Maneesri said shuttle vehicles were running for those leaving the Na Nai 3 and Na Nai 8 areas, media reported. The provincial warning covers run-off flooding, collapsing slopes, falling stones, mudflows, gusty winds and heavy seas. Water was reported at 21 places, among them Kata, Karon, Chalong, Rawai and Phuket Town, and Khok Tanot Road in Karon was shut. Our Phuket beaches guide maps the west-coast bays.

What does it mean for a trip in the coming weeks?

Phuket is not closed: no island-wide restriction and no airport shutdown have been announced. Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said on 29 October that no visitor had been hurt, that some people caught by the run-off had been moved to safer ground and that many had since returned to their hotels, media reported. He said the Tourist Police, the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the province's tourism and sports office had been asked to help affected visitors and to work with provincial officials. He said losses had not been fully counted, expected the impact to be limited and did not think visitors would cancel.

Late October is still the south-west monsoon on the Andaman coast, so heavy showers remain likely. Our rainy season pages give rainfall month by month, general advice is in safety in Thailand, and travel insurance is worth checking before you move between islands.