Bangkok Major Earthquake Risk

[VintageTQ]

Hi all,

Im a newb to the site but been living in Bangkok about a year. Just came accross this article on How at risk Bangkok is to seious seismic activity and its really got me spooked.... Its very in depth but here are the concluding remarks of it...

'The seismic hazard assessment presented in this paper indicates that Bangkok, though located at a remote

distance from seismic sources, is still at risk of strong earthquake ground motions. The risk is essentially caused

by three major factors: the ability of regional seismic sources to generate large earthquakes, the low attenuation

rate of ground motions in this region, and the ability of thick unconsolidated surficial deposits in Bangkok to

considerably amplify earthquake ground motions. The predicted strong earthquake ground motions could cause

extensive building destruction and considerable loss of life in Bangkok. To avoid such unacceptable economic

and social consequences, the existing building design code must be improved by incorporating necessary seismic

design requirements, and the safety of existing important buildings and hazardous facilities must be critically

reviewed. The predicted earthquake ground motion parameters from this assessment can be directly used for

these purposes.'

Apparently Bangkok is in a very similar situation to Mexico City, which suffered a huge earthquake of 8.0 from a fault that was located 350km away, Tens of thousands died and there was catastrophic damage to the city.

The faults that put bangkok at risk i believe are located 120-300km away and more active faults 400-1000km away, and from what i read are quite capable of producing a major earthquake.

I live in a high rise in Rachada and its a pretty old building, which im doubtful has been designed to withstand any quakes let alone a major one.

Am i being ridiculous or is this something we should all be taking seriously?

Cheers

Vintage

Ps. i apologise if ive affected anyones ability to get a good nights sleep in Bangkok tonight

[trainman34014]

Thankfully I don't live in Bangkok. I've always been aware that the City is at great risk from a large Earthquake and as we all know, Thai building standards are not exactly good. If it ever happens I would expect great loss of life as large numbers of tall buildings would come down like packs of cards. Just my opinion.

[Shot]

Yes, you are pretty much <snipped>. Doomed, I say. Doomed

Edited August 5, 2012 by metisdead
: Profanity.

[metisdead]

OP, do you have a link to the source of your information?

[VintageTQ]

I think i need to bring my move to Yasothon forward, and fast !!

[BookMan]

Article from where?

[VintageTQ]

Yes, heres the link... a lot of jargon on there i didnt really understabnd but nevertheless its an interesting read

http://www.iitk.ac.in/nicee/wcee/article/2145.pdf

[thenervoussurgeon]

Lucky we only live in a cardboard box.

[agogohome]

I think i need to bring my move to Yasothon forward, and fast !!

The World's supposed to be coming to an end in December anyway. So why bother? LOL

[VintageTQ]

Lucky we only live in a cardboard box.

Do you have a spare room for me, wife and child?

[whybother]

Am i being ridiculous or is this something we should all be taking seriously?

I would go for option A.

[agogohome]

Lucky we only live in a cardboard box.

Sounds like a song title :-)

[BookMan]

That's an interesting article OP, read in its entirety.

I had no idea Bangkok was so earthquake prone and as the article pints out, buildings have not been built with consideration to seismic loadings.

I guess like most things, nothing will happen until something catastrophic happens.

Will I lose sleep when I am in bkk? Well certainly not for the reasons of thinking about earthquakes.

[travelmann]

Ive bought myself a gun so Ill be safe when the panic sets in, the Thai guy who sold it me said it worked every time.

[Payboy]

I think i need to bring my move to Yasothon forward, and fast !!

The World's supposed to be coming to an end in December anyway. So why bother? LOL

Should I cancel the mince pies and turkey?

[givenall]

I think i need to bring my move to Yasothon forward, and fast !!

The World's supposed to be coming to an end in December anyway. So why bother? LOL

Should I cancel the mince pies and turkey?

As usual everything is backward in LOS:wub:

sent from-would like to know

[DrTuner]

Eartquake in BKK ? Well I guess a good shake would liquify the swamp. Silly place to build a city on, I guess it had to do with military objectives way back in time.

[w11guy]

Most people are more at risk of killing themselves from eating junk food. The chances of a large earthquake killing thousands in Bangkok is extremely remote. More get killed in road accidents every year. So stay in your hi-rise, eat healthy food and stay off the roads.

[StreetCowboy]

Lucky we only live in a cardboard box.

When I lived in Taiwan I was forever having to prop the corrugated iron roof back up.

Luckily Naam's estate wall is pretty solid.

SC

EDIT: I would reckon there's a high risk of liquefaction in Bangkok, so you might want to consider the safety of piled foundations

Edited August 6, 2012 by StreetCowboy

[Phatcharanan]

So stay in your hi-rise, eat healthy food and stay off the roads.

Sounds like a dull life.