Older Bangkok high-rise buildings 'a quake risk'

[webfact]

EARTHQUAKE
Older high-rise buildings 'a quake risk'
THANAPAT KITJAKOSOL
THE NATION

7.2 magnitude quake could bring down over a dozen towers in Bangkok, experts warn

BANGKOK: -- IF A 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes nearer to Bangkok than Chiang Rai, which was rattled by a raft of strong tremors last month, up to 17 towers in the capital would topple over, as they were built without appropriate safety measures, a Bangkok seminar heard recently.

Safety regulations should be amended to be enforced on all kinds of buildings, not just those above the minimum height of five storeys, to ensure they can withstand future seismic activity, which will be potentially harsher, said Assoc Prof Pennueng Wanitchai, a leading expert with the Asian Institute of Technology.

The Kanchanaburi fault lines are potentially more dangerous and cover larger areas than those in Chiang Rai that spawned strong shakers and more than a thousand aftershocks. Minor quakes occurring every 50 years may pose no risks to skyscrapers, but those occurring every 500 years could cause up to 12 structures taller than 12 metres to collapse, he said.

More powerful quakes occurring

every 2,500 years may flatten buildings with 20-40 storeys in Bangkok. The ministerial regulation of 1997 requires that |buildings with five storeys - or a height of about 15 metres - to be installed with quake safety measures.

The Chiang Rai quakes damaged or destroyed many buildings with fewer than five storeys and other installations because there were no safety measures available when they were constructed.

City planning, which is non-existent in Thailand, could also help by restricting construction of tall buildings in areas where the soil is unstable, such as mud or clay.

Seismologists and engineering experts have attempted for a decade to seek the amendment of the quake safety regulations.

The Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning under the Interior Ministry would need to spearhead the effort to amend the law with a push and cooperation from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and local administrative bodies across the country.

Schools being repaired

Assoc Professor Anek Siripanichgorn, a civil engineering lecturer at King Mongkut's University of Technology Thon Buri, and the chairman of the Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) under Royal Patronage, said two quake-damaged schools in Chiang Rai were being repaired with the cost covered by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn based on EIT criteria for quake safety measures.

The EIT is planning to construct two-storey quake-safe buildings in Chiang Rai to serve as models.

Assoc Prof Suttisak Soralump, at the EIT's Coordination Centre for Disaster Mitigation, said a nationwide database on active fault lines should be updated and a new survey be carried out. About 220 engineers had surveyed the damage to 100 houses, with 90 of them in serious condition. Local construction workers have been trained on how to repair those homes, as they fear that they may be at risk if the homes they work on collapse.

Assoc Prof Amorn Pimanmas, a lecturer with the Sirindhorn International Institute of Technology under Thammasat University, said about 10,000 homes, buildings and installations were damaged in the Chiang Rai quakes in May.

Authorities should design standard quake-safe models for owners to study and use when building new homes, he said.


-- The Nation 2014-06-09

[englishoak]

Lets be honest they dont have a clue if its a dozen or dozens. One thing they do know, many are sub standard and cheaply constructed.

[Chao Lao Beach]

"up to 17 towers in the capital would topple over, as they were built without appropriate safety measures"

Why claim 17 buildings ad not name them ?

Which are the 17 buildings ? Please name them Thai Visa News.

Edited June 8, 2014 by Chao Lao Beach

[GeorgeO]

This not just scaremongering. I was in Taipei when the earthquake hit in September 1999 and the number of buildings that collapsed there through faulty construction was devastating. Almost 2,500 people died, with about 11,500 serious injuries. Many people died when the storeys between floors five to nine simply caved in on themselves as a result of the lack of structural integrity.

I, for one, am glad that I live in a townhouse here, and not in one of the upper floors of an older high-rise building.

[retell]

Would be wise to tear them down not ?

Big quake every 2500 years ? When was the last one ?

[noitom]

As another poster noted, why would the Thai press state "17" buildings without clarifying which ones? Why wouldn't the Thai press be more clear about how long ago a major earthquake in or near Bangkok occurred? Is this just Thai press engendering fear?

[chainarong]

Firstly the earthquake design puts fairly hefty price tag on new buildings , the option should be there with a prevision, that if the structure falls in an earthquake, no responsibility will taken by the government nor the builder etc etc, as it is a poor country and the buildings reflect the price that will be paid, you can't expect everyone to be able to pay the higher prices, this would not apply to commercial buildings, only private house holders , to be honest the standard of the buildings on the estate where I live in Phitsanulok, the whole lot would be a pile of rubble in a big shake, poor building standards , workmanship and materials.

[indothai]

This news was done by The Nation. And the article was sponsored by the new condominium association of Bangkok. (i'm kidding about the sponsor, but I bet it's true.)

Can anyone find the 17 towers mentioned in the article...apparently there was a seminar about it and I wonder if the buildings was named.

If a 7 magnitude earthquake were to hit Bangkok, the last thing we have to worry about are those 17 towers. Highways, Hospitals, Banks, water infrastructure, electricity infrastructure..... and most importantly, the internet will be disrupted!

[ezzra]

Our 15 years old Sukhumvit 4 star quality hi-rise was fitted with galvanized water pipes

through out that should have lasted for around 30 years or so, but already 2-3 years ago

most of the pipes are getting clogged with rust and cracks appears on the outside

of those 2-4" pipes, in any other responsible country you'd have a recourse and some one

to complain to... no suck luck in this country....

[indothai]

I live in a condo on Sathorn, same problems with the water pipes. Cost cutting measures to increase profits to all parties.

Chiang Rai has experienced many earthquakes.... did the people there learn anything or did life just continue as if it never happened and will never happen again?

Our 15 years old Sukhumvit 4 star quality hi-rise was fitted with galvanized water pipes

through out that should have lasted for around 30 years or so, but already 2-3 years ago

most of the pipes are getting clogged with rust and cracks appears on the outside

of those 2-4" pipes, in any other responsible country you'd have a recourse and some one

to complain to... no suck luck in this country....

[whybother]

If anyone actually named any of these buildings, there would be hundreds of defamation court cases.

The news papers won't name them, because they don't know and they probably didn't ask, and they wouldn't print the names even if they knew.

[Chao Lao Beach]

Re the post above re rusted water pipes, it is best to buy the supplies in Thailand for construction your self and pay to have it built and you be on site every day.

I agree a bit hard for a condo.

[rebelplatoon]

Built on mud or clay. . That s all of Bangkok!

[lee b]

I'm glad i moved out of my 44 floor condo in BKK then.... Doubt that place would have been able to survive a large quake.

[Bernard Flint]

Would be wise to tear them down not ?

Big quake every 2500 years ? When was the last one ?

2499 years ago

[Bernard Flint]

When Bangkok gets flooded, will the high story condos survive,and be a sanctuary for man and beast

[Katipo]

I am curious to know what different standards have been applied to 'newer' building that would make them safer than the 17 'older' ones in the article.

[Bernard Flint]

I am curious to know what different standards have been applied to 'newer' building that would make them safer than the 17 'older' ones in the article.

Interesting point

I would first check if the 17 were built by thais, and which ones non thai. The corruption is rife and money gets skimmed from projects by the elite, hence poor materials and botched jobs

[fvw53]

One should mention also that probably the most important factor is the quality of the cement which has been used. I guess there are regulations in Thailand about this issue but are they respected and do inspections take place?

Disastrous earthquakes in Turkey and Iran were of course depending on the number on the Richter scale but also on the use of sub standard cement and other building materials.

[smedly]

and they think a coup has an effect on tourism - I wonder how many people feel safe staying in a hi-rise in Bangkok after reading this - and we all know that the figures mentioned are grossly underestimated

[davejones23]

"up to 17 towers in the capital would topple over, as they were built without appropriate safety measures"

Why claim 17 buildings ad not name them ?

Which are the 17 buildings ? Please name them Thai Visa News.

They are not talking about 17 specific buildings. They said up to 17 could collapse. I presume this data is from a computer simulation. There might be 100+ substandard buildings, but they might not all collapse. You'd need to read the full report and methodology for more answers and not rely on a press report.

Which buildings? You can probably just assume that most older buildings don't meet regulations because they weren't in force at the time.

As for the person who suggested tearing them down, I think that is too costly. There just isn't enough money to pay for rebuilding on that scale. In any case, more people die every year in road accidents, so money would be better spent on sorting that problem out than sorting out buildings that may never collapse.

It's obviously a risk, but the risk seems very small compared to other risks that people willingly take - driving, eating junk food, drinking alcohol, etc.

[arisaje]

"up to 17 towers in the capital would topple over, as they were built without appropriate safety measures"

Why claim 17 buildings ad not name them ?

Which are the 17 buildings ? Please name them Thai Visa News.

Naming the 17 buildings would be a start, but then you are condemning the additional buildings surrounding those 17 buildings…..as no one could be sure which way they would fall. So then you are up to more than 100 buildings ++

But to be honest, with the number of newer buildings in Bangkok being built on stilts, random columns that maybe architecturally modern, but certainly not safe in an earthquake……Thailand would be looking at a major catastrophe, much worse than the tsunami, with no real experience or emergency services in Bangkok to cope with anything on that scale.

Its a sad thought…..but who knows. Could be 1 year away, 100 years or 500 years….

[3SoiDogNight]

What is considered an "older" building?

15 years old?

20 years old?

30 years old?

This article also fails to mention that. At what year did they start to construct buildings with seismic integrity?

[bangon04]

What is considered an "older" building?

15 years old?

20 years old?

30 years old?

This article also fails to mention that. At what year did they start to construct buildings with seismic integrity?

As usual, more questions than answers after reading the ever-informative Nation drivel.

"City planning, which is non-existent in Thailand, could also help by restricting construction of tall buildings in areas where the soil is unstable, such as mud or clay.

Seismologists and engineering experts have attempted for a decade to seek the amendment of the quake safety regulations.

The Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning under the Interior Ministry would need to spearhead the effort to amend the law"

This rather invites the question - If City Planning is "non-existent", then what exactly is the Department of Town and Country Planning being paid to do? Are we assuming that there is planning in "towns" and planning in the "country"? If so where is the evidence?

[thairookie]

"up to 17 towers in the capital would topple over, as they were built without appropriate safety measures"

Why claim 17 buildings ad not name them ?

Which are the 17 buildings ? Please name them Thai Visa News.

I hope Bayoke Sky is among the 17s.

[UbonRatch]

"up to 17 towers in the capital would topple over, as they were built without appropriate safety measures"

Why claim 17 buildings ad not name them ?

Which are the 17 buildings ? Please name them Thai Visa News.

I hope Bayoke Sky is among the 17s.

I was just about to write about Bayoke. The article says "The ministerial regulation of 1997 requires that |buildings with five storeys - or a height of about 15 metres - to be installed with quake safety measures."

Guess what year the Bayoke was finished, when this quake safety measures came in? Yep... 1997.

The steel and concrete construction was all Thai tendered. Can you imagine all the crap rods and air-filled concrete in the Bayoke?

For sure it would go, and probably very easily. That would be a horrific day!

[332]

Don't worry foreign condo owners. Thai insurance companies will pay you out quickly and completely.

[retell]

Don't worry foreign condo owners. Thai insurance companies will pay you out quickly and completely.

Most dont with natural disasters

[332]

Yes, it was a joke.

[wealth]

damages along the Shinawatra fault-lines are more severe than previously thought. ...