Foreign Office issues Asia travel advice

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has issued advice for the countries worst affected by the Boxing Day tsunamis. Here, we round up that advice. SOUTH INDIA The areas most affected are the Tamil Nadu coast, the Andhra Pradesh coast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In the Andaman and Nicobar Islands limited communications means that the situation is still not clear. There were a number of British tourists on the Islands when the waves struck. Anyone planning to visit the affected areas should check carefully with travel and/or accommodation agents to make sure that it is safe and tenable to proceed. There is extensive damage to buildings and other infrastructure in the areas concerned and the emergency services are fully stretched. There is real risk of disease. Other parts of India, including most of Kerala, are not affected. INDONESIA Tourists should avoid travel to the west and north coasts of the province of Aceh on the island of Sumatra. There has been considerable damage to the underlying health care in affected areas. Flooding, stagnant water, disruption of sewer lines, and poor quality sanitation conditions are conducive to development of disease. Those in affected areas are advised to purchase bottled water, as local water sources may be contaminated. The FCO advises against all travel to Aceh except for those involved in humanitarian operations. THAILAND Until local conditions improve he FCO recommends against all but essential travel to affected resorts and towns along Thailand’s west coast, in particular Phuket, Krabi and Khao Lak. The infrastructure and public services are severely disrupted. MALAYSIA The north west coast of peninsular Malaysia, including the tourist destinations of Langkawi and Penang, was hit by the waves. The impact on Malaysia has been far less severe than in some other areas in the region. However, there has been significant damage and local authorities have confirmed the deaths of at least 65 Malaysians. Anyone planning to visit affected areas should check carefully with travel and/or accommodation agents to make sure that it is safe to proceed. SRI LANKA The FCO advises against all but essential travel to affected areas along Sri Lanka’s eastern and southern coasts, and to the south-western coast south of Kalutara until local conditions improve. There were extensive casualties and damage along these coasts including to tourist resorts. If it is essential to visit affected areas travellers should check carefully with local contacts to make sure it is advisable to proceed. There is a real risk of disease in affected areas and a particular danger from contaminated seafood. MALDIVES A state of emergency has been declared. There has been serious damage to a number of islands, including some resort islands. Before travelling, those planning a holiday in the Maldives should check with their tour operator that their resort island is operating normally. Floods in the capital, Male, have now receded and the airport is open. OTHER COUNTRIES Burma, Bangladesh, the Seychelles, Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania were also affected to a lesser extent, with loss of life and physical damage reported in all these countries.