Earthquake?

[Jimjim]

The prospect of a big earthquake IN Bangkok is terrifying. Think Turkey or Iran.

[Jai Dee]

Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation advices people in high buildings during emergency situation

The Director General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, Mr. Anucha Mokkhavesa, says many northern provinces and high buildings in Bangkok felt the 6.1-magnitude earthquake in the border areas of Laos and Myanmar yesterday (May 16). He says the incident signals that earthquakes may not be an unfamiliar issue for Thai people any longer.

Mr. Anucha says people who are living or working in high buildings or skyscrapers should know the first aid procedures, such as using fire extinguishers, closing gas and electrical appliances, and preparing medicines and survival kits during emergency. He says they need to have an evacuation plan and know the places with a strong structure in their buildings so they can protect themselves from dangers. In addition, they should stay away from doors, windows, and electric polls because fragments of mirrors may injure them. He says people in high buildings must not panic and they should avoid using elevators. However, they should follow up on the emergency situation closely.

Mr. Anucha also warns motorists driving near places where earthquakes are taking place to park their vehicles in safe places and wait for the tremors to stop. As for people who are at beaches or coastal areas, they are warned of possible massive waves that can crash into the shores.

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation is closely monitoring the earthquake situation closely, and officials have been dispatched to various provinces to implement the natural disaster preventive measures and help inform the public of the situation.

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

[Jai Dee]

Office employees flee their high-rise buildings on Silom Road to wait on street after they felt the quake at 4 pm.

Photographs by The Nation - 17 May 2007

[t.s]

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.

sound asleep in a bookstore full of people. thats the life.

[WaiWai]

In addition, they should stay away from doors, windows, and electric polls because fragments of mirrors may injure them.

I will, if someone can tell me what an "electric poll" is.

[WaiWai]

Powerful quake sparks panic in Thailand, Vietnam

A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 6.1 struck western Laos near the border with Thailand on Wednesday, sending people fleeing buildings and running for cover as far away as Bangkok and Hanoi.

The quake hit at 0857 GMT, the US Geological Survey said, in the heart of the Golden Triangle, a rugged and forested region where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet in what was once a notorious opium smuggling route.

Officials in those countries as well as neighbouring China said there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

People in the Thai capital Bangkok, roughly 880 kilometres (550 miles) from the epicentre, poured onto the street as high-rise buildings rocked.

In the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, hundreds of people fled office towers and hotels when the city's tall buildings started to sway.

"I thought I was suffering a stroke or a heart attack -- then I realised it was an earthquake," said Fred Burke, a managing partner of the law firm Baker McKenzie, who was on the 13th floor of a Hanoi office building.

"The building shook for about a minute. The staff were screaming, and we told them to get away from the windows and take cover under the tables."

The US Geological Survey estimated the tremor was centred at a depth of 38 kilometres.

China's Seismological Monitoring Network, using a different scale, reported the quake at a strength of 6.6 while Thailand's meteorological department said a 4.7 magnitude aftershock hit at about 1005 GMT.

Officials in the four Thai provinces near the Laos border -- Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan and Lampang -- felt the quake, which hit about 60 kilometres northeast of the Thai border, but reported no serious damage or injuries.

"It was the most severe quake ever to hit northern Thailand," said Smith Thammasaroj, director of the National Disaster Centre. He cautioned people to be aware of possible landslides triggered by the earthquake.

Laos reported little immediate impact from the quake, which struck a mountainous region near the Chinese and Myanmar borders, a sparsely-populated traditional opium-growing area dominated by ethnic minorities.

"As far as we know now, there are no victims," Lao foreign ministry spokesman Yong Chanthalangsy told AFP by telephone from Vientiane.

"There are no tall buildings and people live in a very scattered way, in small houses," he said. "The damage shouldn't be very serious."

Residents of the remote town of Oudon Xay felt the ground move for about 10 seconds and fled their buildings, but there were no reports of material damage, he said.

In Luang Nampha, close to the Myanmar border, "people also felt pretty strong jolts," he said. "There was some panic but no property damage and no victims either. The quake lasted about 15 seconds."

The quake was not felt in the Lao capital Vientiane or the former royal capital Luang Prabang, a UNESCO world heritage site, said Yong.

Authorities in the Chinese city of Jinghong, just over the border from the epicentre, said the quake was felt there but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

In the Thai province of Chiang Rai, the top of an ancient pagoda which was under restoration crumbled to the ground, a local official said, while a handful of buildings suffered minor cracks in the cities of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai.

In Chiang Mai, a city popular with tourists, people evacuated shaking buildings and flooded onto the streets.

"My building shook twice, once very heavily, and the second time was like having a headache -- the floors were sliding," said Viparwan Chaiprakorb, who works on the third floor of an office building in the centre of Chiang Mai.

"People were scared," she told AFP by phone.

Shocked workers huddled on the streets of Bangkok, which rarely feels the effects of earthquakes.

"I have not seen a strong earthquake like this before, my head felt like it was spinning," Nattaya Limngern, a 40-year-old office worker, told AFP.

(AFP)

[WaiWai]

11 aftershocks happen Wednesday night

Meteorological Department Director-General Supalerk Tansriwattanawongse said Thursday that 11 aftershocks happened during Wednesday night.

He said the aftershocks were measured at 4.7 to 4.9 on the open Richter scale.

Giving an interview to Nation Channel Thursday morning, Supalerk said the aftershocks did not cause any damage and Thai people did not fell them.

He said his department was still monitoring the situation after the earthquake hit Laos and was felt in Thailand.

"We believe that there would be more aftershocks on Thursday but people would not feel them," the meteorological chief said.

"In fact a 5.3 Richter earthquake happened on May 15 at 9.30pm."

He said two quakes occurred on Wednesday. The first one measuring at 5.7 on the Richter scale took place at 3.56 pm and the second one measuring at 6.1 on the Richter scale struck at 3.57pm.

Earlier, announcements from the Meteorological Department caused public confusion on the magnitude of the quakes as it released two figures of the magnitude.

The Nation

[Jai Dee]

Dep Mineral Resources advise citizens on how to respond to earthquakes

The Department of Mineral Resources is advising citizens on how to handle the effect of recent earthquakes, while affirming that the Din Daeng Flats will not be affected by aftershocks.

Director General of the Department of Mineral Resources, Mr. Apichai Chawacharoenpan (อภิชัย ชวเจริญพันธ์), reported that earthquakes which occurred near Thailand's borders with Laos and Myanmar yesterday (May 16) have caused fractures at several buildings and ancient sites in Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai provinces. Mr. Apichai said his agency is advising citizens to refrain from entering buildings which have suffered earthquake damages, and to notify authorities.

During an earthquake building residents should seek protection under strong furniture until tremors subside. Evacuating buildings during earthquakes is not advised. The director general said that some areas of Bangkok with weak soil structure have felt the aftershocks of yesterday's earthquake. Mr. Apichai affirmed that the earthquakes will not affect Din Daeng Flats, due to their distant proximity from the earthquake's epicenter.

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

[Jai Dee]

BMA instructs Department of Public Works to inspect buildings

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has ordered the Department of Public Works to examine the buildings that have been affected from the 6.1-magnitude earthquake yesterday (May 16).

The Deputy Governor of Bangkok, Mr. Putthipong Punnakan, has reinstructed the officials to investigate the buildings quickly and to report them to the BMA as soon as possible. The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation is responsible for assisting the general public during emergency periods.

Mr. Putthipong affirms that the BMA is well prepared for providing assistance if natural disasters occur.

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

[gharknes]

how earthquake proof are thai buildings.........................ok I guess I already know the answer

perhaps another reason to move away from thailand

[Jai Dee]

Measures needed to prevent damage from quake

A leading seismologist Thursday called on the government to map out measures against damage from future earthquakes in light of Wednesday's 6.1 magnitude quake in Laos and northern Thailand.

Pennueng Wanitchai, a seismologist of the Asian Institute of Technology, said the fault line in Myanmar caused small earthquakes in the Golden Triangle areas, connecting Laos, Myanmar and Thailand before the

6.1 magnitude earthquake occurred about 700 kms from Bangkok.

The tremor was felt in the capital as it lies on soft soil, which can extend the severity of an earthquake three times, he said.

Such tremor was however not dangerous, he said, adding that he was worrisome about fault lines near the capital such as the Sakaing fault in the Andaman sea, 400 kms from Bangkok or the Three Pagoda fault zone and the Srisawat fault in Kanchanaburi, 200 kms from Bangkok.

If these fault lines trigger a powerful earthquake, it will have a massive impact on Bangkok, he said.

Although it will not happen soon, preventive measures are needed, he added. Studies on these faults must be done and ministerial regulations must be issued to enforce designing buildings to withstand major seismic events.

He said the issue has been under consideration by the Office of the Council of State for a year.

Smith Tumsaroch, advisor to Information and Communication Technology Minister, said cracks were found on the building of the Customs Department's northern office in Chiang Rai province and tiles

fell from its roof. Some cracks were also found at hospital buildings in the province.

Meanwhile, a Royal Irrigation Department spokesman said officials were inspecting any damage that might occur at dams.

It is believed that there is no damage to the dams because they were designed to resist to an earthquake, measuring at seven on the Richter scale. There have been no reports of damage so far.

Culture Minister Khunying Khaisri Sriaroon said she ordered a renovation of the 500-year old Chomkitti pagoda after Wednesday's earthquake caused damage to the top of the pagoda which broke off and fell down.

Meanwhile, the Fine Arts Department is conducting surveys at other historical sites in the North to evaluate the damage.

Source: TNA - 17 May 2007

[chanchao]

In addition, they should stay away from doors, windows, and electric polls because fragments of mirrors may injure them.

I will, if someone can tell me what an "electric poll" is.

Or 'mirrors' for that matter, when they really mean 'glass'.

I hope Thai construction is better than their language skills.

[chanchao]

how earthquake proof are thai buildings.........................ok I guess I already know the answer

perhaps another reason to move away from thailand

Bye!

Traditional Thai buildings are exceptionally earthquake proof.

I'm less sure about the modern concrete beam structures though.

[Naam]

Can you feel an earthquake now?!

no, did you?

[sriracha john]

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.

like on a lot of issues, you got this one twisted a$$-backwards too...

The Nation