Earthquake Rocks Bangkok: Building Collapses with 40 people inside

[DonniePeverley]

2 hours ago, still kicking said:

Bangkok Post - 7-day deadline for probe into Chinese-built high-rise collapse

 

lol yeah okay. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

6 minutes ago, DonniePeverley said:

 

lol yeah okay. 

 

 

Quote

Bangkok Post - 7-day deadline for probe into Chinese-built high-rise collapse

 

 

If you DON'T want to find the actual answers as to WHY, then, I'd say that's exactly the way you'd do it.

 

 

[Lorry]

4 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

This is the first one of this size to ever hit Bangkok

What hit Bangkok,  was actually a rather minor tremor, as explained in the reddit posted by @Rolo89.

I fully agree with the  reddit post. I have lived through many earthquakes, and this kind of tremor should not have caused that much damages - it should not even have caused all those superficial damages, falling tiles, cracks etc. And, as written in reddit, my old condo held up very well without any visible damage.

[ExpatOilWorker]

29 minutes ago, Lorry said:

What hit Bangkok,  was actually a rather minor tremor, as explained in the reddit posted by @Rolo89.

I fully agree with the  reddit post. I have lived through many earthquakes, and this kind of tremor should not have caused that much damages - it should not even have caused all those superficial damages, falling tiles, cracks etc. And, as written in reddit, my old condo held up very well without any visible damage.

It was a good shake up, even at FCCT.

 

[rabas]

On 3/29/2025 at 6:02 PM, MikeandDow said:

Oh !!  and you have news that the crane was maned at the time

 

Watch LIVE!

 

[Ralf001]

9 hours ago, Rolo89 said:

Earthquake proof apartment built in 2022: No one is allowed to live in there, people are allowed to line up to wait and enter to collect belongings. 

 

How do you know it designed as earthquake proof ?

[MikeandDow]

6 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Yes, apart from the second picture which looks bad. I have always said we need to see which buildings fare well and which don't - there are bound to be bad performers. We will know after all inspections, but on the face of it this one did badly - whether that is a support column for the building or not I don't know. Do you know?

I'll spell it out again: Bangkok did well as a whole. One building collapsed. One. Out of the thousands of high rises one collpased and it was still under construction.  I am sure there will be some that will be condemned, but I think not many. Whether the one above will be one or not I don't know.

But people posting ceiling tiles, wall tiles, superficial cracks and crying foul against the whole industry are nothing more than bashers. As if "earthquake resistance" should mean no cracks or wobbly false ceilings.

 

If you think Bangkok did well !! go tell it to the familys of the dead!! 

 

[HampiK]

1 hour ago, Ralf001 said:

 

How do you know it designed as earthquake proof ?

So far I know, all building higher than 15 meters had to be build earthquake proof since 2007.
In 2021 it was increased to build more safe.

So a Building from 2022 (Which is taller than 15m) has to be earthquake proove. Or in that case should have.

My room has 2 cracks in the gypsum and unfortunatelly 1 50cm crack over a door frame at a inner wall. Else I can't find any cracks. But yes, there are other rooms which showed more cracks inside the rooms.

 

But to be honest as I never encountered anything similar to this event before it was really horrifying and I hope I never have to encounter something like that again. I also not knew before if the buildings were even likely build earthquake resistant or not!

[MikeandDow]

6 minutes ago, HampiK said:

So far I know, all building higher than 15 meters had to be build earthquake proof since 2007.
In 2021 it was increased to build more safe.

So a Building from 2022 (Which is taller than 15m) has to be earthquake proove. Or in that case should have.

My room has 2 cracks in the gypsum and unfortunatelly 1 50cm crack over a door frame at a inner wall. Else I can't find any cracks. But yes, there are other rooms which showed more cracks inside the rooms.

 

But to be honest as I never encountered anything similar to this event before it was really horrifying and I hope I never have to encounter something like that again. I also not knew before if the buildings were even likely build earthquake resistant or not!

You did not answer the question ( as far as you know )  There should be approval cert or paperwork attesting to the fact ??  but the problem is how do you know ! answer you dont know !!  coruption is rife in thailand its easy to get approval when the baht is king! 

[jojothai]

3 hours ago, HampiK said:

So far I know, all building higher than 15 meters had to be build earthquake proof since 2007.
In 2021 it was increased to build more safe.

So a Building from 2022 (Which is taller than 15m) has to be earthquake proove. Or in that case should have.

My room has 2 cracks in the gypsum and unfortunatelly 1 50cm crack over a door frame at a inner wall. Else I can't find any cracks. But yes, there are other rooms which showed more cracks inside the rooms.

 

But to be honest as I never encountered anything similar to this event before it was really horrifying and I hope I never have to encounter something like that again. I also not knew before if the buildings were even likely build earthquake resistant or not!

FYI, no buildings are earthquake proof. 
Designs are done to specific levels of ground acceleration specified as horizontal "g" forces appllied to the buidling. The forces used depend on the zone and seismic risk.
In more complex structures, finite element analysis is carried out to model behaviour in an earthquake and calculate streses caused.
As stated in reports, the mynamar earthquake was near to ground surface and the horizontal movements were much higher than if it had been deeper underground., and perhaps higher than many standards specify. This may also be why the effects carried to distances so far away.

[jojothai]

14 hours ago, Rolo89 said:

Several 'new' condo buildings in Bangkok have severe structural pillar damage that will likely lead to towers being torn down as that is basically unrepairable..etc. (well, TIT, so maybe the damage will be filled with plaster and repainted 😉 ).

Perhaps they should now be called 'new' cowboy buildings. 😉
Not built well.

[jojothai]

15 hours ago, Rolo89 said:

Earthquake proof apartment built in 2022: No one is allowed to live in there, people are allowed to line up to wait and enter to collect belongings. 

 

 

And nobody is going to go in and properly protect the wires hanging down on the picture that were likely from a ceiling light, potentially live because a light is on in the background. Or switch off the lighting completely to avoid any fire risk.
FFS.

[jojothai]

22 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

Thailand has a plethora of building code, safety  protocols, quality standards  are they implemented NO !! are they policed NO !!   you can get ANY approval you like !! the almight baht is king !!  the question you should be asking DID they police the codes and standards ? was they 3rd body inspections done ?  Did the materials meet the required standards  ect ??

 

21 hours ago, josephbloggs said:

Did any buildings collapse? How did those built after 2021 fare?

Any sensible insights or just more shouting and ranting?

 Look on the bright side.
At least we now have a good probability that a lot of buildings are built well, because they did not suffer any serious damage

[MikeandDow]

4 minutes ago, jojothai said:

 

 Look on the bright side.
At least we now have a good probability that a lot of buildings are built well, because they did not suffer any serious damage

There is no 100% quake proof building,  but the Japanese buildings are as close to 100% as you get, they are designed with strict engineering standards to be highly earthquake-resistant,

[Ralf001]

Just now, MikeandDow said:

There is no 100% quake proof building,  but the Japanese buildings are as close to 100% as you get, they are designed with strict engineering standards to be highly earthquake-resistant,

 

Thats good for the Japanese.

 

Does Thailand build to the same engineering standards ?

 

If not then why even bring the japs into it.

[MikeandDow]

2 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Thats good for the Japanese.

 

Does Thailand build to the same engineering standards ?

 

If not then why even bring the japs into it.

replying to a post if you must know

[Rolo89]

Lots of buildings were evacutated two hours ago, reports of another earthquake. But turned out to be false and it's due to structural integrity.

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2991772/bangkok-buildings-evacuated-amid-reported-vibrations-cracks

 

 

 

[Kenneth White]

This is sad. My wife and her family live in Kalasin, and I felt slight tremors from the quake here.

[anchadian]

20 minutes ago, Rolo89 said:

Lots of buildings were evacutated two hours ago, reports of another earthquake. But turned out to be false and it's due to structural integrity.

 

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2991772/bangkok-buildings-evacuated-amid-reported-vibrations-cracks

 

 

 

Reports continued to emerge about people leaving buildings, including at least two hospitals, after feeling a tremor this morning. No evacuation orders were given at Taksin Hospital or Police General Hospital, but some medical staff and patients left anyway. They were later told to go back inside. The Thai Meteorological Department said there was no earthquake in Thailand, and aftershocks from Myanmar have not affected Thailand. The PM's Press Office said the cracks reported at Chaeng Watthana Government Complex were already there before. They also stated that each organization decides whether to evacuate, but any such decision should be clearly communicated and based on verified information from official sources.
https://x.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/1906595684142502028

The PM has treated herself to a new magic wand:

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra reassured investors about the inspections of buildings and recovery efforts following Friday's earthquake.

"I will work tirelessly to resolve the situation and restore normalcy," she added at a Board of Investment seminar.
https://x.com/ThaiEnquirer/status/1906590422446821442

 

[Rolo89]

3 minutes ago, anchadian said:

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra reassured investors

I don't think it'll do any good. People have no confidence in the quality of all these new condos that were supposted to meet quake standards. 

 

A nail in the coffin for people thinking of investing in BKK condos.

[John Drake]

On 3/30/2025 at 12:59 PM, Patong2021 said:

 

It seems to be a lot simpler than that.

David Zhang's China Insider website has highlighted the alleged poor design of the building. According to him, the building structure was already complete with the Chinese builder saying that it had been "capped". The windows and cladding were not necessary for the building's integrity. China has decribed this as an "audit" building to  showcase its new earthquake resistant design based upon a top down concept. The design failed. According to  David Zhang, China has since been removing references to its  new design and the fact that the. building was a demonstration  version of the technology that would lead the world.

 

Let's see if the Thai government is willing to  hold the Chinese responsible for this catastrophe. Hopefully, the Course of Coinstruction/Builder's Risk it was insured using Chinese insurers so that Thai policy holders do not have to cover this.

 

Was this then a pilot project, with many more Chinese projects to come? Or are there several completed already?

[Patong2021]

23 minutes ago, John Drake said:

 

Was this then a pilot project, with many more Chinese projects to come? Or are there several completed already?

In respect to my earlier comments, I incorrectly attributed the earthquake design questions to David Zhang. They come from another source. I apologize for the incorrect attribution.  However, David Zhang highlights the Chinese construction engineering and quality  issues and points out that the Serbian train station which collapsed was also Chinese engineered and built.

 

To date, I am unable to locate another source to corroborate the design error issue initially referred to. Instead, the claims are now indicating  a change in  direction to that of a local change in the design with suggested political overtones. The Nation is offering that angle in its newsblog    https://www.nationthailand.com/blogs/news/general/40048071

This too may be speculation under the guise of an opinion.

 

 

 

*To be transparent, David Zhang is a frequent critic of the PRC government. He is reportedly based in New York City.  

 

[scubascuba3]

Good to see this load bearing pillar has been fixed, residents no longer have to worry 😆, the cover ups have started

[Rolo89]

18 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Good to see this load bearing pillar has been fixed, residents no longer have to worry 😆, the cover ups have started

I feel re-assued now and will buy a unit there for 10฿ million 🤣

[Anton9]

22 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Good to see this load bearing pillar has been fixed, residents no longer have to worry 😆, the cover ups have started

They are literally doing what they suppose to do, geez some people here really hate everything about Thailand.

[MikeandDow]

24 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Good to see this load bearing pillar has been fixed, residents no longer have to worry 😆, the cover ups have started

Ridiculous have they never heard of cold joints 

Cold joints typically occur when fresh concrete meets hardened concrete (or partially set), creating a structural discontinuity that can lead to many issues, such as water infiltration, decreased structural strength, and bad aesthetics.

but to be fair  you realy need to see the repair procedure   at the least they need a bonding agent

 

[xylophone]

On 3/29/2025 at 9:48 PM, lordgrinz said:

Why is the government using this company for anything?!

Surely a rhetorical question lordgrinz, as you have surely been around Thailand long enough to know that fat brown envelopes often rule the day with regards to construction projects and just about everything else which goes on here!

[ExpatOilWorker]

9 minutes ago, Rolo89 said:

I feel re-assued now and will buy a unit there for 10฿ million 🤣

44 floors of prime real-estate. They do have a roof top pool if that is your thing.

[MikeandDow]

2 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Surely a rhetorical question lordgrinz, as you have surely been around Thailand long enough to know that fat brown envelopes often rule the day with regards to construction projects and just about everything else which goes on here!

 dont you think its time for thailand to say enough is enough  stop killing people because of coruption

[Rolo89]

10 minutes ago, Anton9 said:

They are literally doing what they suppose to do, geez some people here really hate everything about Thailand.

And you know exactly what they're doing? 

 

The building won't have even had a proper survey yet.