Officials in Thailand have said today that the initial damage costs from the Thailand tsunami will likely be more than 1.8 billion Thai Baht (1US = 39 Baht), but added that this was only a first estimate and this figure could rise.

The Governor of Phuket, Udomsak Assawarangkura said that all bodies had now been recovered from the sea and the beaches and workers were now rushing to repair the damage on the buildings and the beach.

Governor Udomsak also said that in contradiction to what the foreign media were saying, Phuket had more than sufficient water, food, power and medical supplies for all the people on Phuket island, but what Phuket needed was technical advice and a huge amount of construction materials to repair the damage.

Several Thai businesspeople have already come forward and offered to rebuild entire schools on the island, which received extensive damage when the tsunami wave struck the island on Sunday, but building materials are in short supply and need very fast to be send from Bangkok and the inland provinces.

Governor Udomsak said that the Phuket Provincial Officials were now busy helping survivors, who had lost members of their family, to deal with the shock and the aftermath of the tsunami tragedy.