Thousands of people are fleeing Thai islands popular with tourists ahead of what could be the most devastating storm to hit Thailand in decades, officials told CNN on Thursday. Tropical Storm Pabuk is expected to make landfall around 7 p.m. local time Friday (5 a.m. ET) near the Chumphon archipelago, on the eastern border of Thailand's Surat Thani and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces, but heavy rains are expected to arrive in the next few hours.