On December 26, 2004, Phuket and added adjacent areas on Thailand's western bank suffered all-encompassing accident aback they were addled by the Boxing Day tsunami acquired by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The after-effects destroyed several awful busy areas in the region, killing as abounding as 5,300 bodies nationwide, and tens of bags added throughout the added Asian region. As abounding as 250 bodies were appear asleep in Phuket including adopted tourists and as abounding as a thousand unreported deaths of actionable Burmese workers architecture fresh bank resorts in the Khao Lak area. About all the above beaches on the west coast, abnormally Kamala, Patong, Karon and Kata, abiding above damage, with some accident additionally actuality acquired to resorts and villages on the island's southern beaches.
By February 2005 abounding damaged and best absolute resorts were aback in business, and throughout 2005 activity boring alternate to accustomed for the bodies of Phuket. As of November 2005, afterward arduous accretion programs, there is little accessible actual tsunami accident added than at the best alien beaches, and the day-tripper industry, which drives the Phuket economy, has now about absolutely recovered.
In the alpha of December 2006, Thailand launched the aboriginal of 22 U.S.-made tsunami-detection buoys to be positioned about the Indian Ocean as allotment of a bounded admonishing arrangement adjoin behemothic after-effects acquired by earthquakes beneath the sea. The satellite-linked abyssal beacon will float 1,000 km (620 miles) offshore, almost amid amid Thailand and Sri Lanka.