Thailand’s Earthquake Damage: 34 Buildings Deemed Unsafe After National Checks

[Sigmund]

Why only assess the buildings and condos ?

 

Many foreign tourists and winter birds rent or own villas and homes that are equally at risk due to faulty construction, cheap grade materials used, bad foundation sealing against humidity, crappy electrical wiring or plumbing, unqualified labour, non respect of basic curing protocols for the cemant, lousy mix of the cement aggregate and so on...

 

Any housing developpment mainly in popular tourist resorts must undergo compulsory and non corrupt assessment with the owners presence. That is the first step to establish trust.

[Lingba]

10 hours ago, whiteman said:

ONLY 34    

I think they forgot to add two zeros....3400

[Upnotover]

3 minutes ago, Sigmund said:

Why only assess the buildings and condos ?

 

Many foreign tourists and winter birds rent or own villas and homes that are equally at risk due to faulty construction, cheap grade materials used, bad foundation sealing against humidity, crappy electrical wiring or plumbing, unqualified labour, non respect of basic curing protocols for the cemant, lousy mix of the cement aggregate and so on...

 

Any housing developpment mainly in popular tourist resorts must undergo compulsory and non corrupt assessment with the owners presence. That is the first step to establish trust.

 

Seriously?  I think the priority, which is clearly only cosmetic anyway, is for structures with many occupants.  A Few crushed "winter birds" is hardly of interest or concern.

[daveAustin]

10 hours ago, redwood1 said:

I guess they will be selling those high rise 30 million baht condos for 30 thousand baht.....I might have to pick up a few....

A waste of 30k when they demolish it. 😋

[CallumWK]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

In the wake of a recent earthquake, inspectors have flagged 34 buildings across Thailand as severely damaged, rendering them off-limits for safety reasons.

 

 

Where is Joseph ?

[wozzlegummich]

LOSING FACE - There was an article on Khaosod English that in last half of 2024 the Bangkok Governor wanted ฿60M for an enquiry into highrise building practices, safety and conforming with regulations. He was defeated soundly in the parliament with one of the opposed making a speech that Bangkok was not prone to earthquakes.

Strangely the article dissappeared as quickly as it appeared.

[Don Giovanni]

More like 340 or 3,400...

 

Carry on checking.

 

The Don.

[quake]

14 hours ago, ujayujay said:

Only 34....come on, this is wishful thinking.....Whoever believes

 

 Are you suggesting some people are being dishonest.

Shame on you tarnishing Thailand's good name on health and safety issues.

[MikeandDow]

3 hours ago, wozzlegummich said:

LOSING FACE - There was an article on Khaosod English that in last half of 2024 the Bangkok Governor wanted ฿60M for an enquiry into highrise building practices, safety and conforming with regulations. He was defeated soundly in the parliament with one of the opposed making a speech that Bangkok was not prone to earthquakes.

Strangely the article dissappeared as quickly as it appeared.

The guy who made the speech was probably right Bangkok is not in a earthquake zone

There is a major fault called the Sagaing fault, which cuts right through Myanmar north to south and is more than 1,200km (746 miles) long.

Early data suggests that the movement that caused Friday's 7.7-magnitude earthquake was a "strike-slip" - where two blocks move horizontally along each other.

This aligns with the movement typical of the Sagaing fault.

As the plates move past each other, they can become stuck, building friction until it is suddenly released and the earth shifts, causing an earthquake.

How earthquakes are felt at the surface is also determined by the type of soil.

In soft soil - which is what Bangkok is built on - seismic waves (the vibrations of the earth) slow down and build up, getting bigger in size.

So, Bangkok's geology would have made the ground shaking more intense.

What hit Bangkok was seismic waves  from 1500klm away

[Joebuzzz]

18 hours ago, MikeandDow said:

International standard is visual !!

Following an earthquake, inspections of quake damage involve a two-phase process: a rapid assessment to identify safe and unsafe buildings, followed by a detailed inspection to determine the extent of damage and necessary repairs.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the inspections:

1. Rapid Assessment (Initial Phase):

Purpose:To quickly identify buildings that are obviously safe (no damage) or obviously unsafe (high risk of collapse).

 

Method:

Teams of structural engineers or trained inspectors conduct a visual assessment of buildings, looking for major structural damage, potential hazards, and signs of instability.

Outcomes:Buildings deemed safe are marked as such and may be re-occupied

Buildings deemed unsafe are marked as such and may be closed off to prevent further casualties. Buildings with uncertain safety status are marked for detailed inspection.

2. Detailed Assessment (Second Phase):

Purpose:

To determine the extent of damage and the necessary repairs or interventions.

Method:

Structural Assessment: Engineers conduct a thorough inspection of the building's structure, including walls, floors, roofs, and foundations.

Building Systems Assessment: Inspectors assess the condition of building systems such as plumbing, electrical, and HVAC. 

Damage Identification: Any damage, including cracks, structural issues, or compromised building systems, is identified and documented. 

Recommendations: Engineers provide recommendations for repairs, strengthening, or demolition, as need

Outcomes:Buildings are assessed for their usability and safety.

Recommendations are made for repairs, strengthening, or demolition. 

Appropriate postings (e.g., "SAFE," "LIMITED ENTRY," "UNSAFE") are placed on the building to inform the public. 

Yep. What he said.

I was a building inspector for 25 years.

[newnative]

14 hours ago, chrischronic said:

My condo shared the inspector's report, with many photos, checking areas of the building—top and bottom, roof, etc. They started on the day of the earthquake for a quick assessment and then the following day for a thorough investigation. We were sent a report in the chat saying all was clear. Everyone also shared pictures of cracks and damage in their units, and today the worker came and marked all cracks and took pictures for the building's insurance. Our building is filing an insurance claim, and we will get repairs. The building owner lives on the top floor and is a senior woman. We may be lucky because she was afraid for her home and got things moving quickly.

     It's been much the same with my Bangkok highrise project.  The building has been inspected twice and passed both times.  Owners have been posting photos of their condos and most are like mine--minor cracks, wallpaper damage, etc.  There are some double-floor units with 2-story living rooms and these units perhaps had more damage than some others, from the photos posted.  Like you, my project will submit a claim and the condos will, hopefully, be repaired--owners have until April 12 to submit photos and owner information to the condo management.  

    We talked to the handyman who will likely be repairing our condo and he was in a number of units looking at the work to be done.  Purely un-scientific, but in our building he thought that there was slightly more damage to units in the middle of the 42-story building rather than the lower or upper floors.  We are on floor 37 and I think what surprised me most was that we have huge floor to ceiling mirror panels in the dining room area and the master bedroom.  I thought they would likely all be severely cracked but only one of them has a horizontal crack about 6 or 7 inches long right at the top of the panel--we might be able to hide that with molding or spouse says the crack maybe can be fixed.  

[newnative]

7 hours ago, wozzlegummich said:

LOSING FACE - There was an article on Khaosod English that in last half of 2024 the Bangkok Governor wanted ฿60M for an enquiry into highrise building practices, safety and conforming with regulations. He was defeated soundly in the parliament with one of the opposed making a speech that Bangkok was not prone to earthquakes.

Strangely the article dissappeared as quickly as it appeared.

     I think the BKK governor is great--but he has to deal with examples like this.  Thai spouse told me he wanted to put some sort of new technology earthquake warning systems on public buildings--starting with hospitals--but that was also turned down when he asked for it to be funded by some council that, apparently, oversees the BKK budget.  

[MikeandDow]

26 minutes ago, newnative said:

     I think the BKK governor is great--but he has to deal with examples like this.  Thai spouse told me he wanted to put some sort of new technology earthquake warning systems on public buildings--starting with hospitals--but that was also turned down when he asked for it to be funded by some council that, apparently, oversees the BKK budget.  

He wanted to buy   seismographs budget 9 million baht  and put them in tower buildings ,    you can buy the machine for 40,000 each the best placement is seismographs are ideally placed in quiet, remote areas on hard rock, far from noise sources like traffic and industry, and preferably in subsurface locations for temperature stability.  is this not blatent courupption !!!!  does nobody do research or due diligence when spending tax payers money Thailand should be ashamed letting people do this

if due diligence  was conducted you will see that the guy who gave the speech was right Bangkok is NOT in a earthquake zone it happened 1500klms away,  seismic shock waves and bangkok being bulit on a swamp  caused the damage

[Dexxter]

On 4/3/2025 at 1:11 PM, sammieuk1 said:

Sister in-law told she can move out if she wants to but her 16k deposit will be forfeited .. it will all get messy in BBK high rise market for sure  🤔

 

We live in one of the high rise buildings seen on the news with their rooftop pools being emptied over the sides. We were told by the agent that we can either move out and lose our deposit of 2 months rent, or accept a decrease in monthly rent and stay on. After the initial panic and wanting to immediately move out, my Thai wife realised it will be really hard work to pack up, find a new place and make the move. So we will stay on and negotiate a lower rent. Laziness and saving money wins out over perceived personal safety.