I am am planning to go to Thailand in late February. Here are some excerpts from a report from the owners of the liveaboard we will use for a part of the trip. It is not exactly what you were looking for, but you may find it helpful.
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We are very fortunate in Phuket that the killer tsunami waves that hit our
shores in the morning of Sunday 26th December 2004 resulted in relatively
small lost of lives and damages than in other areas. While round the clock
search for the dead and the missing are still going on in most parts of
Phang-nga (a province immediately north of Phuket) and on Phi Phi Islands
( south east of Phuket but in Phang-nga province), life is trying to get
back to normal on Phuket beaches. Luckily many of the hotels and resorts in
Phuket have not been affected.
...
The dilemma and moral issue to us at Aqua One is clear. Do we stop all
operations in the light of this horrendous disaster and its aftermath or do
we continue with our business as usual as we can?
Immediately after the killer waves struck Aqua One has done what it could
to help with the relief works. We are still putting ourselves at the
disposal of the authorities should the vessel and crew be needed.
We have, however, decided that the livings must also go on. A large numbers
of those that survived need a job and income to support their families.
Otherwise we will have another kind of human catastrophe on our hands in the
near future. We encourage visitors to come to Phuket for their holidays,
stay in the hotels, eat in the restaurants, buy souvenirs from the
street-side vendors and continue to dive the still beautiful areas of the
Andaman Sea.
Aqua One has decided to go on with our trips as scheduled. This, in our
opinion, will help the local community and businesses get back to their feet
soon. It is also our intention to ensure that our guests will enjoy their
diving holiday as they expect with the added feeling that by joining the
trip they are also helping the people who suffered from the disaster.
In the last few days Aqua One was out on a trip with the authorities to
ascertain and report on the islands and dive sites in the Andaman Sea. The
official report will come out some time this week. However, from the
conclusion reached on board, it is clear that dive sites in the off shore
areas (those that feature in Aqua One's itineraries) were not affected. The
tsunami waves only caused destructions in 4 specific dive sites. The rest
of the sites remain in tact and are as beautiful as ever. In fact our survey
team reported the best ever visibility and high density of marine life.
The sites that were affected in the Similan are 'Breakfast bend', Island #7
and part of 'Deep Six' to the north of Island #6. Koh Tachai was badly
damaged. Only a limited number of sites (mainly shallow reefs) in the Surin
Islands have been affected. Like in the Similan the damages are localized
and specific.
"East of Eden" off Island #6 ( one of our favorite dive site) remains as
picture perfect as before and all the wrecks are still in tact. Richelieu
Rock remains vibrant with its soft coral and teeming marine inhabitants. Red
and Purple Rocks (Hin Daeng & Hin Muang) that are located south of Phuket
are also not affected.
Dive sites in the Mergui area in Myanmar have not been affected by the
tsunami waves at all. Except at Silvertip Bank, sharks and other pelagic
were still encountered at Heckford and New Banks.
.....
