Earthquake?

[qualtrough]

On the Nation website tonight:

"Dr Penneung Wanitchai, an ecologist, said the layers of soft soil in Bangkok, magnified the tremor and the power was sent to high-rise building, and thus causing people on high-rise buildings to feel the quake.

He said it was quite frightening that the quake was felt in Bangkok although the epicenter was about 700 kms away. He said damages could happen if the quake happened within the 400 km radius of Bangkok."

This corresponds exactly with what an earthquake expert at AIT told me about 10 years ago. He said that Bangkok was very similar to Mexico city in this respect. According to him the great quake there had a epicenter far outside the city, and areas located in between the epicenter and Mexico city were not affected so much, but in Mexico city the soft terrain magnified the tremor to the point that high rise buildings swayed so much they bumped into each other and then collapsed. Not to worry though-Bangkok high-rise structures have all been built to withstand earthquakes....OH NO, PANIC!

[John K]

i have a creeping suspicion Thaksin was behind this.

think about it, he's just been summoned to appear in court, and he's about to buy a football team....and...

i'm sure SJ or someone would be along soon to provide the logical link and the irrefutable facts.

We are checking, it may have been a sudden move of his hidden money while Wolfowitz is distracted.

[Ulysses G.]

I felt the big quake in San Francisco in 1989.

Guess I'm getting too old or maybe my rocking chair softened the effect.

[KhunMarco]

So basically even though we in Cm are closer to the seismic area, those in Bkk are probably at a much higher risk.

he he the little bastard in me is glad to hear that

Edited May 16, 2007 by KhunMarco

[Austhaied]

Slightly related to the topic...

>FOLKESTONE/DOVER EARTHQUAKE APPEAL .An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the

>Richter scale hit Folkestone & Dover in the early hours of Saturday Its

>epicentre was in Folkestone.

Victims were seen wandering around aimlessly, muttering "Faaackinell".

The tremor decimated the area causing an estimated £30 worth of damage.

Several priceless collections of mementos from Majorca and the Costa

del Sol

were damaged beyond repair.Three areas of historic burnt out cars were

damaged and Conservation Officers were distraught at the irreperable

damage

to some of our unique heritage.

The Planning office said another 250 people were now homeless,

increasing the

total by almost a quarter of a percent.Most locals were woken well

before

their giros arrived which added to the panic. Invicta FM reported that

hundreds of residents were confused and bewildered and were still trying

to

come to terms with the fact that something interesting had happened in

Folkestone.

One resident - Tracy Sharon Smith, a 15-year-old mother of 5said, "It

was

such a shock, my little Chardonnay-Mercedes come running into my bedroom

crying. My youngest two, Tyler-Morgan and Victoria-Storm slept through

it

all. I was still shaking when I was skinning up and watching Jeremey

Kyle the

next morning.

"Looting, mugging and car crime rates were seriously affected, falling

by30%

between 9 and 11am, but recovered by lunchtime.The police doubled the

'on

duty' presence in the town, issued riot gear and sanctioned overtime,

both

P.C.'s now doing continuous five hour shifts in the armoured car.The

British

Red Cross has so far managed to ship 4,000 crates of Sunny Delight to

the

area to help the stricken locals.Rescue workers are still searching

through

the rubble and have found large quantities of personal belongings,

including

benefit books, jewellery from Elizabeth Duke at Argos and Bone China

from

Poundland.

One seasoned international aid worker said the scenes were worse than

parts

of eastern Darfur, Sheppey and furthest Essex.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?This appeal is to raise money for food and clothing

parcels

for those unfortunate enough to be caught up in this disaster.Clothing

is

most sought after - items most needed include:Fila or Burberry baseball

caps Kappa tracksuit tops (his and hers)Shell suits (female - mauve

preferred)White sport socks Rockport boots and any other items usually

sold

in Primark.Required basic foodstuffs include:Microwave meals - Tins of

baked

beans - Ice cream.Cans of Colt 45 or Special Brew.20p buys a biro for

filling in the compensation forms.£2.00 buys chips, crisps and blue

fizzy

drinks for a family of 9.£5 buys a pack of B&H and a lighter to calm

the

nerves of those affected.Dungeoness 'B' reported only minor cracks in

reactors but issued an emergency call for some sikkaflex when the

inspectors

condemned the polyfilla.They assured the press no noticable harm would

be

caused as the radiation radius was only 40 miles.***Breaking

news***Rescue

workers found a girl in the rubble smothered in raspberry

alco-pop.'Where

are you bleeding from?' they asked."Aylesham" said the girl, "wossit

gotta

do wiv you?"Please don't forward this to anyone living in Folkestone/

Dover.Oh sod it... they won't be able to read it

anyway.*************************

[WaiWai]

Wonder how Suv. airport has handled it ?

[John K]

Well lets see, there is a fault line that runs up from the gulf and goes about 5 km east of the new airport running up to and parallel to Myanmar’s border with Thailand. Google ‘fault lines Asia’

http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900S...35?OpenDocument

As for the building code, well the last time I was in San Francisco airport, I noted the columns were at least 3 meters in diameter. As I sit looking at the ones in my new 8 storey apartment building that are 0.8 meters and the ones on the many buildings under construction, it does not give me a whole lot of comfort. Add to that they put much more effort into the facade than any other part of a building, I guess less work and more play is appropriate for people living here.

[ColPyat]

Slightly related to the topic...

>FOLKESTONE/DOVER EARTHQUAKE APPEAL .An earthquake measuring 4.7 on the

>Richter scale hit Folkestone & Dover in the early hours of Saturday Its

>epicentre was in Folkestone.

Victims were seen wandering around aimlessly, muttering "Faaackinell".

The tremor decimated the area causing an estimated £30 worth of damage.

Several priceless collections of mementos from Majorca and the Costa

del Sol

were damaged beyond repair.Three areas of historic burnt out cars were

damaged and Conservation Officers were distraught at the irreperable

damage

to some of our unique heritage.

The Planning office said another 250 people were now homeless,

increasing the

total by almost a quarter of a percent.Most locals were woken well

before

their giros arrived which added to the panic. Invicta FM reported that

hundreds of residents were confused and bewildered and were still trying

to

come to terms with the fact that something interesting had happened in

Folkestone.

One resident - Tracy Sharon Smith, a 15-year-old mother of 5said, "It

was

such a shock, my little Chardonnay-Mercedes come running into my bedroom

crying. My youngest two, Tyler-Morgan and Victoria-Storm slept through

it

all. I was still shaking when I was skinning up and watching Jeremey

Kyle the

next morning.

"Looting, mugging and car crime rates were seriously affected, falling

by30%

between 9 and 11am, but recovered by lunchtime.The police doubled the

'on

duty' presence in the town, issued riot gear and sanctioned overtime,

both

P.C.'s now doing continuous five hour shifts in the armoured car.The

British

Red Cross has so far managed to ship 4,000 crates of Sunny Delight to

the

area to help the stricken locals.Rescue workers are still searching

through

the rubble and have found large quantities of personal belongings,

including

benefit books, jewellery from Elizabeth Duke at Argos and Bone China

from

Poundland.

One seasoned international aid worker said the scenes were worse than

parts

of eastern Darfur, Sheppey and furthest Essex.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?This appeal is to raise money for food and clothing

parcels

for those unfortunate enough to be caught up in this disaster.Clothing

is

most sought after - items most needed include:Fila or Burberry baseball

caps Kappa tracksuit tops (his and hers)Shell suits (female - mauve

preferred)White sport socks Rockport boots and any other items usually

sold

in Primark.Required basic foodstuffs include:Microwave meals - Tins of

baked

beans - Ice cream.Cans of Colt 45 or Special Brew.20p buys a biro for

filling in the compensation forms.£2.00 buys chips, crisps and blue

fizzy

drinks for a family of 9.£5 buys a pack of B&H and a lighter to calm

the

nerves of those affected.Dungeoness 'B' reported only minor cracks in

reactors but issued an emergency call for some sikkaflex when the

inspectors

condemned the polyfilla.They assured the press no noticable harm would

be

caused as the radiation radius was only 40 miles.***Breaking

news***Rescue

workers found a girl in the rubble smothered in raspberry

alco-pop.'Where

are you bleeding from?' they asked."Aylesham" said the girl, "wossit

gotta

do wiv you?"Please don't forward this to anyone living in Folkestone/

Dover.Oh sod it... they won't be able to read it

anyway.*************************

Faaackinell, where did you get that from? Any more?

[Kan Win]

Wonder how Suv. airport has handled it ?

No Problems from here, take-off and landing same same and we never felt a thing on the West Runway, but thank you for asking.

[WaiWai]

Wonder how Suv. airport has handled it ?

No Problems from here, take-off and landing same same and we never felt a thing on the West Runway, but thank you for asking.

Thanks ! You may go back to sleep now .

[andyashley]

My wife works on the 28th floor just North Of Central Ladphrao on Phayonyothin. Got so shaky that they evacuated. Its a new building so maybe they were being extra careful.

On the other hand my domestic servants on the 12th floor near Ekamai and Rama 9 didn't feel a thing.

(I just returned home)

Anyone know about construction standards in Thailand? (The building in which I live is about 30 floors and was constructed about 10 years ago).

phormio..maybe time to get more info or start to pack up and move !

[dttk0009]

I'm on Sukhumvit and I didn't feel a thing either.

[BlackArtemis]

Chiang Mai Ram shook, rolled and wobbled for 30-40seconds.

[julie_f]

I didn't feel anything at the time on the outskirts of bangkok but did get a headache and felt a bit out of it. Very strange. Hope we don't get hit by a big one though. I don't think many of the high rises are built to withstand a big quake.

[chanchao]

I think people are inclined to estimate the duration too high. Like initially I thought 30 seconds too but no way was it that much. Probably just 10-15 seconds.

[WaiWai]

I think people are inclined to estimate the duration too high. Like initially I thought 30 seconds too but no way was it that much. Probably just 10-15 seconds.

Speak for yourself !

[ovenman]

I think people are inclined to estimate the duration too high. Like initially I thought 30 seconds too but no way was it that much. Probably just 10-15 seconds.

Speak for yourself !

Ten seconds at the most...

[phormio]

My wife works on the 28th floor just North Of Central Ladphrao on Phayonyothin. Got so shaky that they evacuated. Its a new building so maybe they were being extra careful.

On the other hand my domestic servants on the 12th floor near Ekamai and Rama 9 didn't feel a thing.

(I just returned home)

Anyone know about construction standards in Thailand? (The building in which I live is about 30 floors and was constructed about 10 years ago).

phormio..maybe time to get more info or start to pack up and move !

Well we have been thinking about building a house...

but Bangkok aint the best bet for a large long term investment(thinking of the kids here)

due to its relatively low altitude and imminently unpredictable global warming effects.

[jEFFREYk44]

The reason Bangkok felt it as much is because of the soil, the water table is so high the ground is very wet and when it vibrates the water and soil mix together briefly, this is called Liquefaction. God forbid Bangkok suffers and big hit, the city will collapse, literally the ground will turn to quicksand, and there are nearby faults.

Edited May 16, 2007 by jEFFREYk44

[KhunMarco]

This was def. more than 30 seconds, I was on my chair when it started and for some reason I counted , till my GF came to rescue me I was at 35 and I'd say it continued to 40-50 (not sure ..i was running downstairs ..stupid, but she was freaking out ).

Is there's a source to see the recorded time span?

[Austhaied]

This was def. more than 30 seconds, I was on my chair when it started and for some reason I counted , till my GF came to rescue me I was at 35 and I'd say it continued to 40-50 (not sure ..i was running downstairs ..stupid, but she was freaking out ).

Is there's a source to see the recorded time span?

I agree. It was at least 45 seconds if not a full minute.

[cdnvic]

It may have been in a remote area of Laos, but Chang Saen and Mae Sai were only about 35 miles from the epicentre. Wonder how it felt there?

[Head Snake]

Did anybody bother to check the quake effect on the airport cracks?

I gotta make a trip soon. I guess I'll just monitor to make sure other plane land safely.

[Pattayatony]

Did anybody bother to check the quake effect on the airport cracks?

I gotta make a trip soon. I guess I'll just monitor to make sure other plane land safely.

Airport cracks caused by earth quake.

[jayjayjayjay]

The reason Bangkok felt it as much is because of the soil, the water table is so high the ground is very wet and when it vibrates the water and soil mix together briefly, this is called Liquefaction. God forbid Bangkok suffers and big hit, the city will collapse, literally the ground will turn to quicksand, and there are nearby faults.

Face it,,, let's have some construction guys explain this, Bangkok is build on PORRIDGE!!!!!!!! During the 80's and 90's you could see excavations, they use plate steel for backhoes to move around on, without steel plates the backhoes would have sunk 20 meters underground. Most highrise have piles 60 to 70 meters into the subsoil, which is still sand, all of which will liquify. Those of you that felt the earthquake in BKK felt the initial viabrations that will leed to complete liquifiaction in the event of a biggy in BKK.

The entire Bangkok central region is built on ground that would liquify like the Bay area in San Francisco/Oakland's (yep remember the bridge that flatten like a pancake, caused by liquification). If Bangkok gets hit by a 8 or 9, expect it to be FLAT!

[jackmuu]

My wife works on the 28th floor just North Of Central Ladphrao on Phayonyothin. Got so shaky that they evacuated. Its a new building so maybe they were being extra careful.

On the other hand my domestic servants on the 12th floor near Ekamai and Rama 9 didn't feel a thing.

(I just returned home)

Anyone know about construction standards in Thailand? (The building in which I live is about 30 floors and was constructed about 10 years ago).

We are in that same area, 20th floor, nothing felt here, but building is less than 3 years old.

[Jai Dee]

Earthquake yesterday damages ancient monuments in Chiang Rai

Earthquake in Chiang Rai Province has damaged many ancient monuments in Chiang Saen (เชียงแสน) District.

The earthquake of 5.7 Richter which took place yesterday (May, 16th) at about 15.50 hrs trembled, leading to a piece of gold top of the Chom Kitti (จอมกิตติ) Pagoda to fall off. The other pagodas damaged by the earthquake include the Pa Sak (ป่าสัก) and Luang (หลวง).

Chiang Saen District is nearest to the center of the earthquake or 35 kilometers away from the Golden Triangle. The earthquake was strongly felt in Phong (พง) City of Myanmar and Mom (มอม) City in Laos. Its center at the Golden Triangle is only two kilometers away from the earthquake on May 15th.

As for Mae Chan (แม่จัน) District adjacent to Chiang Saen, the residents report that they felt the vibration which caused a slight damage to their residences as well as the Mae Chan Provincial Police Station.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 17 May 2007

[Jai Dee]

SET unaffected by earthquake

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) reports that it is unaffected by the earthquake of magnitude 6.1 centered in a remote region of Laos yesterday (May 16). The earthquake was felt in many areas with high buildings in Bangkok, causing several companies and offices to halt the operations temporarily.

Yesterday, the SET Index closed higher at 721.66 points, up by 8.39 from its previous day. The market value was around 6,545,990,000 baht. At the same time, the mai Index went down 1.60 points to close at 209.93.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 17 May 2007

[Ulysses G.]

Might be the difference between ground floor and second floor UG. I am upstairs. And it was very obvious here.

I'm downstairs meadish, and our house swayed like a sailor on port leave.

I didn't realize that this happened at 3:30 PM. I was in the middle of a power-nap about then. That is why I didn't feel it.

Edited May 17, 2007 by Ulysses G.

[Austhaied]

Did anybody bother to check the quake effect on the airport cracks?

I gotta make a trip soon. I guess I'll just monitor to make sure other plane land safely.

Airport cracks caused by earth quake.

Was this taken from the original report T ?? :D Nice one..