Earthquake Rocks Bangkok: Building Collapses with 40 people inside

[Don Giovanni]

5 minutes ago, homeseeker said:

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

My Thai ENGINEER friends very luxurious condo in Bangkok has been completely trashed in the lobby - he posted the photos this morning on his social media and he is afraid to stay there for now.

 

The Don.

[Nid_Noi]

13 hours ago, radiochaser said:

My wife has told me that the collapsed building was a project for the government.   

 

I cannot attest to the accuracy of that claim. 

More details about this Chinese built project.

 

 

[Rolo89]

5 minutes ago, homeseeker said:

I am scheduled to move and rent a low rise apartment in Silom after Songkran. (deposit paid contract not signed )

The  owner says:
"after further inspection no damage after assessment. All structure is sound and unaffected. Our low rise building is safe to accommodate"

 

I have messaged some acquaintances in same area who say no damage where they stay.

 

I am minded moving in as per agreement.

 

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

 

 

 

 

 

It's way too early to declare the structure is sound. So that's a lie from them.

 

The structure could be sound, but they're lying now as there has not been enough time for it to be properly inspected other than a visual check which doesn't show the full extent.

[Geo. T]

20 hours ago, Merrill said:

Really, so sad to see this. How did this happen it looks to me so flimsy the supporting columns don't look very strong. This should not have happened.

 

The upper floor columns do look too slim to be carrying the weight of the roof but the structural load should have been calculated by the engineer.. From this angle, we cannot tell how much structural support there was in the center of the building at the roof.

 

What is telling is that the lower structure started collapsing at the same time as the upper so it wasn't pancake effect of the weight of the roof collapsing each floor below it as it fell.

 

Concrete usually takes 28 days to cure, and this building appears to have had all the formwork or shuttering removed, which shows that concrete should be near full strength.

 

The facade usually hangs off of this structure, so it generally does not offer more structural support. So that shouldn't necessarily have been a factor.

 

Often in earthquakes, the building starts to rotate and this causes the columns to crumble and lose any stability.

 

In my province, here in Canada, any emergency building, such as hospitals have to have added structural integrity to withstand an earthquake.

 

On one building we ran steel cables from the roof, down 85 feet into bedrock then put 1 million pounds of tension on the cables to hold the building in place so it wouldn't rotate if struck by an earthquake.

 

Some buildings like our CN tower are built to sway 6 feet or more and not be too rigid.

 

Amongst all the other scenarios possible, it would have been terrifying to be in a rooftop infinity pool when all the rocky and swaying began.

[superal]

2 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

I thought an investigation found internal iron core was weakened by the heat, causing the collapse.

An investigation already ? I doubt it , probably an excuse by the builder . Unless you have a link ? 

The building design and specs would have taken the Thai climate into consideration but whether the specs were complied with is another doubt .  

I digress but road construction is a prime example of the low quality of some Thai construction with corruption as the main cause . Near where I live in the north east of Thailand the newly built roads have much resurfacing every year .

I am not a civil engineer but in the UK construction , when structural concrete is poured , there will be a test cube taken .  Do you think that happens in Thailand ?

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, Chris BKK said:

I understand that concrete takes up to 28 days to gain full strength, so if adding floors to quickly then the concrete is not strong enough to support above floors. Usual cost cutting and shody workmanship by engineers, Was this a Chinese construction company. Typical dodgy practises

Yeah, those Damn Chinese with all their collapsing skyscrapers - Shanghai is mostly rubble.

And that's why in the West they only add one floor every 28 days.

If you don't know what you're talking about but just want a bash why not say so? (Oh, you just did).

[Don Giovanni]

2 hours ago, Chris BKK said:

I understand that concrete takes up to 28 days to gain full strength, so if adding floors to quickly then the concrete is not strong enough to support above floors. Usual cost cutting and shody workmanship by engineers, Was this a Chinese construction company. Typical dodgy practises

@Ralf001

[csmith]

 

[RayWright]

2 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

 

Not in my recent experience. 

 

Not to mention the planning and layout of UK roads is light years ahead of Thailand, also the UK has had proper roads for longer, and has older buildings and city layouts to contend with as well. 

Thank the Romans for that,  they started the trend over 2,000 years ago, and still being used today.

Eg, Watling Street, aka the A5. Dover to London then over to Wales.

Fosse Way, links Bath, Exeter in the West over to Lincoln and Leicester in the East.

Etc.

[Don Giovanni]

9 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It's unlikely Bangkok will be affected by another earthquake for many decades

You can't say things like that.

 

Earthquakes can happen anywhere, anytime.

 

The Don.

[jesimps]

This quake was a mere shiver, how come that building collapsed when the other partly completed ones stood fast? I've been in quakes that have been quite strong with only minor damage to buildings. Something is not right about this.

[Ralf001]

14 minutes ago, homeseeker said:

I am scheduled to move and rent a low rise apartment in Silom after Songkran. (deposit paid contract not signed )

The  owner says:
"after further inspection no damage after assessment. All structure is sound and unaffected. Our low rise building is safe to accommodate"

 

I have messaged some acquaintances in same area who say no damage where they stay.

 

I am minded moving in as per agreement.

 

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ask to see the inspection report.

[RayWright]

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Not 100% accurate, The construction was carried out by the ITD-CREC joint venture.

 

CREC  - China Railway No. 10 Group Co., Ltd.

ITD  - Italian-Thai Development Public Co., Ltd.

 

 

Italian in name, but not a single Italian on the Board.

[Liverpool Lou]

55 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

why is a Chinese company building an important Thai government building?

It is being build by a partnership of them and Italian-Thai Development (maybe Ital-Thai Group), a Thai company.

[Ralf001]

13 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

It's unlikely Bangkok will be affected by another earthquake for many decades.  I can't think of any reason not to move in.

Thailand has a number of active faults with the potential to trigger tremors, many of which are concentrated in the northern and western regions.

 

However, these faults do not have the capability to cause strong quakes like those in the Ring of Fire or in areas directly on top of tectonic plate boundaries.

 

Over the past 40 years, Thailand has experienced mid-sized earthquakes (magnitudes 5.0-5.9) 8 times or once every 5 years. 5 of these tremors struck in the north, while the other 3 were centered in the west.

Virtually all earthquakes recorded in Thailand are under magnitude 6.0, although significant seismic activity in far-away locations like Indonesia or Myanmar can be felt in areas with soft soil like Bangkok.

[Aussie999]

9 minutes ago, superal said:

An investigation already ? I doubt it , probably an excuse by the builder . Unless you have a link ? 

The building design and specs would have taken the Thai climate into consideration but whether the specs were complied with is another doubt .  

I digress but road construction is a prime example of the low quality of some Thai construction with corruption as the main cause . Near where I live in the north east of Thailand the newly built roads have much resurfacing every year .

I am not a civil engineer but in the UK construction , when structural concrete is poured , there will be a test cube taken .  Do you think that happens in Thailand ?

Best you actually look at what I was replying to... it was about the World Trade Center.... another hint 911

[johng]

2 minutes ago, Aussie999 said:

it was about the World Trade Center.... another hint 911

 

Yes not the "World Trade Center"  in Bangkok  which renamed itself after 9/11 but still got burnt down in the "Red Shirt riots"

[Liverpool Lou]

49 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

50% of them probably don't even know where the US is!

Ask a Thai on a map to show where Thailand is... You would be surprised

Would I?  But I wasn't talking about Thais, I was referring to Americans.

[josephbloggs]

2 hours ago, Aussie999 said:

Did you notice how narrow the support pillars are... oops, were.

That's because it was a built using a Core Tube with Flat Slab System. This typically results in fewer and narrower columns and the central core takes most of the lateral load, not the columns. It is a common construction method that gives more interior space. Mahanakorn tower used the same method.

Unfortunately until everything is in place, all reinforcements and seismic elements, then it is somewhat more vulnerable to seismic events during the construction phase.

Basically you have no idea what you are talking about and are an expert because you looked at a picture and want to assume they were cutting costs by having narrower columns - probably because of something something Chinese something. I am not an expert either but then I'm not spouting nonsense based on a picture that I know nothing about, let's wait for the investigation.

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Rolo89 said:

The proper structural inspections won't be done for at least another week to reveal the full extent of the damage. It could get so much worse.

...and it could get no worse, at all.

[MikeandDow]

7 minutes ago, RayWright said:

Italian in name, but not a single Italian on the Board.

Thailand in 2021 bought in design critera for building that the design was to be Eathquake proof But typically No enforement of the regulation and of course the baht will get you aproval

[Rolo89]

Just now, Liverpool Lou said:

...and it could get no worse, at all.

I mean the whole bkk condo market could get a lot worse.

 

Even if only 6 buildings are declared uninhabitable now selling condos will now be so much harder.

 

Lots of people won't want to buy, at least for now. It's going to be a tricky 2025 for anyone working in property and the issues will ripple out.

[superal]

24 minutes ago, Nid_Noi said:

More details about this Chinese built project.

 

 

very informative video , thanks for sharing 

[Liverpool Lou]

24 minutes ago, Nid_Noi said:

More details about this Chinese built project.

Thai-Chinese project.

[jojothai]

20 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

Thai Constuction  !!    there is No quality or safety in Thai construction   no standards in  design   design approval by coruption   so what do you expect !!

Dont be silly or alarmist. if there is no quality or standards surely everything would have collapsed. 
Is that what happened? How many other buildings  collapsed?
BKK is not an earthquake prone zone and most buildings will not have design or detailng for earthquakes so it may actually be a very positive sign that there were no other major collapses.
Edit, and correction, i have checked and latest regulations, introduced in 2021, mandate seismic-resistant designs for buildings in Bangkok.  So there are design standards.
However so many buildings in Bangkok are pre-2021 and did not have the regulations, yet the stood up to the quake ok.

What do you know about building design? Unless you know what you are talking about, its wrong to criticise .
Regardless of the poor standards of construction. Its wrong to paint verything with the same brush.

For the building that collapsed it is hard to understand why it should have collapsed. it was nearly complete.
Its possible there may be flaws in the design complying with standards, but not necessaraily no standards.
Maybe poor standard of construction, or lack of adequate reinforcement detailing (that is normally done by the contractor not the designer). Then the review and supervision of the work needs to also be reviewed. 

[Ralf001]

5 minutes ago, MikeandDow said:

Thailand in 2021 bought in design critera for building that the design was to be Eathquake proof But typically No enforement of the regulation and of course the baht will get you aproval

 

How structurally sound is a building that is 30% completed ?

[Walker88]

Absent the horrific collapse of the building in Mo Chit, caught on numerous phone cams, I doubt the earthquake would have made the news in the provincial US, sad as that is. Thailand might be a known quantity, but Myanmar might as well be Narnia to many Americans. Sadly, thousands are likely dead there, as if their lives were pleasant even before yesterday.

 

Question for all: What has been the worst natural disaster in the world since the Asian Tsunami, in terms of lives lost?

 

Answer: Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. More than 180,000 Burmese died.

 

I bet not even 10% of the members here got that answer.

 

Once in a while it's good to be reminded that all human lives---not just a little white girl who fell down a well in Alabama---have value. We're all in this together.

[Ralf001]

3 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Absent the horrific collapse of the building in Mo Chit, caught on numerous phone cams, I doubt the earthquake would have made the news in the provincial US, sad as that is. Thailand might be a known quantity, but Myanmar might as well be Narnia to many Americans. Sadly, thousands are likely dead there, as if their lives were pleasant even before yesterday.

 

Question for all: What has been the worst natural disaster in the world since the Asian Tsunami, in terms of lives lost?

 

Answer: Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. More than 180,000 Burmese died.

 

I bet not even 10% of the members here got that answer.

 

Once in a while it's good to be reminded that all human lives---not just a little white girl who fell down a well in Alabama---have value. We're all in this together.

 

Haitian government claims 200,000+ dead in the 2010 earthquake.

[Liverpool Lou]

28 minutes ago, RayWright said:

Italian in name, but not a single Italian on the Board.

So what?  It was founded by an Italian and a Thai

[Don Giovanni]

1 minute ago, Liverpool Lou said:

So what?  It was founded by an Italian and a Thai

Was it founded by the endangered animal hunter or another Thai?

 

The Don.