Flood of Crack Reports Follows Bangkok Earthquake

[webfact]

Picture courtesy of Khaosod

 

Bangkok's skyline faces a new challenge as nearly 6,000 building crack reports flood in following a recent earthquake, all submitted via Traffy Fondue. This unprecedented surge has prompted the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to refine their systems to ensure swift action from volunteer engineers, with Deputy Governor Sannon Wangsrangboon leading the charge.

 

Initially, over 2,100 cracks were reported just a day after the quake. This number soared to more than 5,500 by midday as awareness spread.

 

The BMA is now mandating immediate inspections for buildings over eight floors to ensure safety and reduce pressure on volunteer engineers. Building owners must provide daily inspection reports under Governor Chadchart Sittipunt’s directive.

 

The BMA has streamlined response procedures, guiding reports based on building height. For buildings over eight floors, cases are classified into three: non-structural cracks, ambiguous damage, or visible structural impacts.

 

Each requires different levels of inspection and action, with volunteer engineers prioritising potentially dangerous cases. Buildings under eight floors rarely see critical damage, but engineers remain vigilant.

 

Volunteer engineers play a pivotal role, efficiently managing over 5,500 ongoing cases with a central team from the Engineering Institute of Thailand coordinating this massive effort.

 

Of the cases logged, approximately 700 require site visits with some buildings being subjects of multiple reports. So far, 28 inspections have been completed, showing the community's resilience.

 

 

 

Residents can easily report cracks by engaging with LINE OA through Traffy Fondue, with a straightforward four-step process that includes sharing comprehensive details and photos.

 

This efficient system is applauded for its effectiveness in handling the city's structural safety concerns, cementing Bangkok’s commitment to public safety during such crises.

 

In summary, Bangkok's proactive measures and public collaboration with skilled engineers showcase a concentrated effort to address the structural impacts post-earthquake. These coordinated actions highlight the city's resilience in ensuring safety for all its residents.

 

Based on a story by The Thaiger
 

-- 2025-03-31

 

 

[ikke1959]

Of course many buildings are being cracked or damaged.. It are the poor building standards and cheap materials used all over the country. Thailand must be happy that the earthquake took place in Myanmar. Suppose it would be in Pai or so.. That would have damaged many buildings  and the number of lives , I don't dare to think about that

[PJ71]

There's probably a fair amount of those cracks that were there before the earthquake.

 

One would expect that somewhere, somehow there's a scam in here for the inspections, sad but true methinks...

[ozz1]

Condos going cheap now not for me I'm sorry I don't really trust their inspections too fast for real proper job

[Woke to Sounds]

Never buy, always rent.

 

if you must buy, do so in the UK, Ireland, Australia or Canada.

 

Guaranteed to always be propped up by gov't and the value to always increase, sometimes by leaps and bounds (e.g. Sydney, Melbourne, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Dublin, Manchester)

[WDSmart]

I live in the mountains near Phetabun, about 200 miles northeast of Bangkok. I was home when the earthquake was reported to have occurred, but I noticed nothing. Several of my Thai neighbors who live in bamboo huts said they felt a little rumbling, like a shudder. There's been no damage up here that I've heard of.

[black tabby12345]

It is amazing that quite a few newer buildings in BKK damaged while nothing happened to my apartment in Chiang Mai(over 50 years old).

 

Chiang Mai is a lot closer to the seismic center though.

 

 

[black tabby12345]

Just now, WDSmart said:

I live in the mountains near Phetabun, about 200 miles northeast of Bangkok. I was home when the earthquake was reported to have occurred, but I noticed nothing. Several of my Thai neighbors who live in bamboo huts said they felt a little rumbling, like a shudder. There's been no damage up here that I've heard of.

 

Hi, bamboo houses like this?

 

I bet their light weight waived the tremor.

Heavier and taller the buildings are, greater impacted by the quake.

Just like a little child has better chance of survival in case of plane crash, than bigger heavier adults.

[WDSmart]

2 minutes ago, black tabby12345 said:

 

Hi, bamboo houses like this?

 

I bet their light weight waived the tremor.

Heavier and taller the buildings are, greater impacted by the quake.

Just like a little child has better chance of survival in case of plane crash, than bigger heavier adults.

Yes, something like that, but not as nice. I agree they would be more susceptible to waiving in a slight tremor than my cement block home. 

[kiwikeith]

5 hours ago, PJ71 said:

There's probably a fair amount of those cracks that were there before the earthquake.

 

One would expect that somewhere, somehow there's a scam in here for the inspections, sad but true methinks...

think your on to it

[richard_smith237]

35 minutes ago, WDSmart said:

I live in the mountains near Phetabun, about 200 miles northeast of Bangkok. I was home when the earthquake was reported to have occurred, but I noticed nothing. Several of my Thai neighbors who live in bamboo huts said they felt a little rumbling, like a shudder. There's been no damage up here that I've heard of.

 

Its a different substrata...  

 

This may help explain why for you - Simplistically put, the quake was magnified in Bangkok due to its 'softer younger formations and basin setting' - its not abnormal, lots of other major cities are build on a similar geological setting.

 

 

[richard_smith237]

6 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Of course many buildings are being cracked or damaged.. It are the poor building standards and cheap materials used all over the country. Thailand must be happy that the earthquake took place in Myanmar. Suppose it would be in Pai or so.. That would have damaged many buildings  and the number of lives , I don't dare to think about that

 

Structural damage is undoubtedly a significant concern...

 

.... But it’s important to first acknowledge the positive outcome: no occupied buildings collapsed, and there was no 'major' city wide loss of life (other than the tragic losses at the collapsed construction site of course).

 

Given the considerable force of the event, with some estimates suggesting a local magnitude reaching an MMI (Modified Mercalli Intensity) value of VI, which corresponds to an approximate magnitude of 6.0 on the Richter scale, the outcome could have been far worse.

 

In this context, Bangkok performed impressively well, especially considering how different the news could have been over the past few days.

 

However, the real concern now lies in the 'follow-on impact' - the structural integrity of buildings and the public's trust in a regime and culture that has a recent history of corruption, which is a justified worry. People are understandably anxious about the quality of safety in a system that has previously been called into question.

 

Buildings that have sustained major structural damage are, without a doubt, now uninhabitable. On the other hand, those with more minor damage can be repaired, although this requires thorough evaluation by trusted experts.

 

Then, we have the widespread cosmetic damage, which many are mistakenly conflating with structural damage. While this type of damage can be fixed relatively easily, it obviously costly.

 

From a scientific perspective, the 'swaying' of taller buildings was largely due to the amplified effects of the lake bed beneath the city. When seismic shear waves, which are particularly destructive, propagate through soft subsurface strata, their impact can become amplified in taller buildings.

 

The resonance of the building's height often aligns with the seismic waves, causing the building to sway more intensely. This is further exacerbated by the 'swing effect,' where the building's own motion becomes amplified by the seismic forces.

 

In contrast, while our house in central Bangkok did experience considerable shaking, with fixtures swaying and some items falling off shelves, the structure itself remained completely intact, with no signs of damage at all.

 

It’s likely that low-rise buildings and houses experienced minimal, if any, damage. Perhaps the most noticeable issues would be minor cracks in plastering or rendering, which are typical after an event like this  (its even typical when there is a construction project nearby !!)

 

In essence, this was a quake that primarily impacted buildings of a certain height. The critical factors were the amplification effects of the soft soil beneath the city and the resonance of buildings with the seismic waves.

 

 

And now, this event has given rise to a number of 'Thai bashers' - individuals who simply cannot resist the urge to criticise. However, their sociophonetic patterns betray their own fundamentally flawed standards of education. These individuals tend to project their biases, revealing a lack of understanding of the fundamental principles of the subject matter they are tripping over.

 

 

[Caldera]

What are the chances that all of those hastily recruited "volunteer engineers" (the article mentions this term a whopping FOUR times) are adequately qualified and incorruptible? 

[metisdead]

A baiting troll post and the replies have been removed. 

[Yagoda]

There are cracks and there are cracks. Some are cosmetic, some are not.

 

I would request the engineer/inspection report submitted to the government. I would hire my own inspector to review it.

[richard_smith237]

6 hours ago, Yagoda said:

There are cracks and there are cracks. Some are cosmetic, some are not.

 

I would request the engineer/inspection report submitted to the government. I would hire my own inspector to review it.

 

You would hire your own inspection team at peak demand to run an full inspection with ultrasonic inspection of supporting structural columns....     

 

... How much do you think is being charged for full inspection of a large 30 floor building.

 

 

AI suggests: 

Approximate Cost Ranges:

• Rapid Assessment: £5,000 - £20,000 (a quick visual and safety inspection)

• Detailed Structural Evaluation: £50,000 - £150,000+ (includes thorough analysis, testing, and reporting)

• Advanced Non-Destructive Testing: Additional £10,000 - £50,000 (e.g., ultrasound, X-ray, or ground-penetrating radar)

 

I'd expect Thailand to be a bit cheaper obviously - but the indication is certainly that such inspection does not come cheap.

 

[Yagoda]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

You would hire your own inspection team at peak demand to run an full inspection with ultrasonic inspection of supporting structural columns....     

 

No, where did I say that

[KannikaP]

On 3/31/2025 at 7:51 AM, webfact said:

all submitted via Traffy Fondue

Who or what is this. Sounds like a Swiss meal.

 

 

Chat GPT sorted me out. Who the f.... decided on that name?

The name "Traffy Fondue" itself combines “Traffy” (short for traffic) with "Fondue," possibly alluding to the mix of different problems being reported—like how fondue combines different ingredients.

Are you looking for more specific information about Traffy Fondue, or something else related to it?

 

I did not ask any further.

[richard_smith237]

12 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

You would hire your own inspection team at peak demand to run an full inspection with ultrasonic inspection of supporting structural columns....     

 

No, where did I say that

 

Ah... you would hire you own inspector to review the inspection report -  got it.

 

But...  again, how would your own private inspector know whether or not inspection team carried out the inspection correctly in the first place with just a review ?.... 

 

8 hours ago, Yagoda said:

There are cracks and there are cracks. Some are cosmetic, some are not.

 

I would request the engineer/inspection report submitted to the government. I would hire my own inspector to review it.

 

[bkk_mike]

On 3/31/2025 at 11:18 AM, Woke to Sounds said:

Never buy, always rent.

 

if you must buy, do so in the UK, Ireland, Australia or Canada.

 

Guaranteed to always be propped up by gov't and the value to always increase, sometimes by leaps and bounds (e.g. Sydney, Melbourne, Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Dublin, Manchester)

I take it you didn't follow the cladding issue in the UK after the Grenfell Tower fire.

 

If lenders won't lend on the property to a new buyer, the price drops pretty badly.

 

Add in the issues in England and Wales with leaseholds and...