Phuket is one of the southern provinces of Thailand. It is an island with no boundaries and is the largest island of Thailand. Here is one of many places in the world that was hit by the big waves called "tsunami". Thailand's western coast including Phuket suffered extensive damage when they were struck by the Boxing Day tsunami caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The waves destroyed several highly populated areas in the region, killing as many as 5,300 people nationwide, and tens of thousands more throughout the wider Asian region. As many as 250 people were reported dead in Phuket including foreign tourists and as many as a thousand unreported deaths of illegal Burmese workers building new beach resorts in the Khao Lak area. Almost all the major beaches on the west coast, especially Kamala, Patong, Karon and Kata, sustained major damage, with some damage also being caused to resorts and villages on the island's southern beaches.
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{K:37355} 5/26/2011
