Chaos in Korat as thirteen power poles come crashing down in summer storm

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Chaos in Korat as thirteen power poles come crashing down in summer storm

 

(Picture courtesy of Dan Khun Thot EGAT on Line application)

 

NAKHON RATCHASIMA: -- Thirteen high voltage power poles toppled over on the Dan Khun Thot to Nong Suang Road in a violent summer storm that hit Korat yesterday evening.

 

Fifteen villages were left without electricity and five vehicles were damaged.

 

One person was taken to hospital, reported Thai Rath.

 

Electrical Generating Authority of Thailand officials and police worked in heavy rain and winds to clear the debris and help restore power to the area. There were long tailbacks on the affected road.

 

The poles hit a bus, a pick-up and three motorcycles. Thirteen came down over a 1.5 kilometer stretch of the highway.

 

EGAT said power should be back to normal today and there was no word yet on the cost of the damage.

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-03-10

[GreasyFingers]

I know it is off subject but it is something that has intrigued me,  back in oz power timber poles were about 100 metres apart. Here even the new concrete ones are only about 50 metres apart. Seems like a waste of money.

[anon4546543]

3 hours ago, GreasyFingers said:

I know it is off subject but it is something that has intrigued me,  back in oz power timber poles were about 100 metres apart. Here even the new concrete ones are only about 50 metres apart. Seems like a waste of money.

The space between poles used to be 1 chain in Aus. But concrete poles cannot flex and are only as good as their foundations. I find it amazing that any stand for years. The poles to my house were installed at a little over 40cm on depth. I dug them deeper at dusk and poured in lots of concrete, err cement to hold them up. They had already taken a 10 degree list before I corrected it. All good so far, fingers crossed 

[whatawonderfulday]

6 minutes ago, spiderorchid said:

The space between poles used to be 1 chain in Aus. But concrete poles cannot flex and are only as good as their foundations. I find it amazing that any stand for years. The poles to my house were installed at a little over 40cm on depth. I dug them deeper at dusk and poured in lots of concrete, err cement to hold them up. They had already taken a 10 degree list before I corrected it. All good so far, fingers crossed 

Yes considering the base loadings I could never understand why they never used proper foundations.  Following that through of course the answer is obviously that it must be cheaper to keep digging a 2 mtr deep hole  and put another post in every 5 years than doing it properly the first time so it lasts 50 years. When they did a new run of HV posts near me last year not one was truly vertical. 1 year on they all look like a line of drunken soldiers. So it is no wonder a storm can cause a domino effect collapse

[bluebluewater]

I must say I was not familiar with a "chain" as a unit of measure.  I did the Wiki thing.  Now I am.

 

Thanks!

[fruitman]

My neighbour has construction going on now, today there were 10 thai men and they made 40 6 meter long concrete poles in his soil all 6 meters deep...they did it ALL by hand with very long scoops on 8 meter poles....seemed very easy and we have very tough clay.

 

I had never seen thai men work that hard.

 

 

[anon4546543]

25 minutes ago, whatawonderfulday said:

Yes considering the base loadings I could never understand why they never used proper foundations.  Following that through of course the answer is obviously that it must be cheaper to keep digging a 2 mtr deep hole  and put another post in every 5 years than doing it properly the first time so it lasts 50 years. When they did a new run of HV posts near me last year not one was truly vertical. 1 year on they all look like a line of drunken soldiers. So it is no wonder a storm can cause a domino effect collapse

I believe that the electrical company operates on a strict budget. This budget is either not sufficient or not well planned. Either way, the authorities do get the job done although precariously at times. Have you seen how much wire they can hang off most poles and HV posts. Check out the wires in any built up area. But it seems to work. When I lived in my state of West Aus, not so many years ago, many died in rural areas because of poor maintenance on the jarrah wood poles. So many fires, so many deaths. It happens everywhere. Poor budgeting, poor maintenance after installation

[Langsuan Man]

11 hours ago, spiderorchid said:

I believe that the electrical company operates on a strict budget

They could substantially increase their budget and eliminate the chaos of multiple lines using their poles if they just charged other utilities (phone, cable, Internet) to use their poles like in the West

 

But this is Thailand and too many vested interests want free access and the public be damned 

[Soitis]

The general problem is that the structures are not in compliance with the specifications. Means that they have purchased the poles with International specifications and send it out for tender. Then there is maybe 10 who is bidding and the final supplier is chosen if some have some relation and see a sweet deal. Contract done, all good, then the main problem occur. Supposed to i.e. cast the concrete poles with 4 x 12mm re-bar, but someone is then cutting the curb and only make it with 2 x re-bar, money saved and into the pockets. Even the concrete mix have for sure been manipulated. Conclusion: Purchased a Grade A, but got a Grade D, because pocket money is more important than safety.

[jerojero]

Dig a deeper hole for the poles. Sheesh!

[55Jay]

Remember that expensive Korat wood house dismantled last year in a wind/rain storm? 

 

Guam decided to try steel ( I think they were tubes/hollow) transmission lines vs. timber.  They sure did look strong, but they weren't set deep enough or were just bolted to a concrete foundation. Bent right over during the first typhoon.   Contractor bugged out off island real quick.  Guam and Thailand have a lot in common.

[anon4546543]

13 hours ago, Soitis said:

The general problem is that the structures are not in compliance with the specifications. Means that they have purchased the poles with International specifications and send it out for tender. Then there is maybe 10 who is bidding and the final supplier is chosen if some have some relation and see a sweet deal. Contract done, all good, then the main problem occur. Supposed to i.e. cast the concrete poles with 4 x 12mm re-bar, but someone is then cutting the curb and only make it with 2 x re-bar, money saved and into the pockets. Even the concrete mix have for sure been manipulated. Conclusion: Purchased a Grade A, but got a Grade D, because pocket money is more important than safety.

And you think this is a purely Thai problem? You need to travel more and watch world news. 

[attrayant]

And you think this is a purely Thai problem?

Where did he say it's purely a Thai problem?

[anon4546543]

30 minutes ago, attrayant said:

 

Where did he say it's purely a Thai problem?

 

The post is about an event in Thailand (Korat) The replies have all been about events in Thailand. Read the post before you ... ah forget it

[attrayant]

In other words, he didn't.  That's all you had to say.

[anon4546543]

12 hours ago, attrayant said:

In other words, he didn't.  That's all you had to say.

What a strange conclusion you reach. The subject is about Korat power poles down. The posts have all been about Korat power poles down. They have included opinions about a typical problem in Thailand. Now you suggest a post was about another unnamed country. And now you want to debate semantics. What a strange possible trollster you are

[Allstars]

On 3/10/2017 at 10:02 PM, fruitman said:

My neighbour has construction going on now, today there were 10 thai men and they made 40 6 meter long concrete poles in his soil all 6 meters deep...they did it ALL by hand with very long scoops on 8 meter poles....seemed very easy and we have very tough clay.

 

I had never seen thai men work that hard.

 

 

 

Am I missing something?

 

They dug 6 meter deep holes by hand?

[anon4546543]

5 minutes ago, Allstars said:

 

Am I missing something?

 

They dug 6 meter deep holes by hand?

6 metres does seem a little over the top, or should I say a great deal underground. 

Some people assume that Thailand has no commercial implements and associated tractors. 

The Thai operators seem more than competent that I have seen. Perhaps a little slow. I am able to pass comment because I was a vehicle trainer at a mine in Kalgoorlie, the Super pit - West Aust. The largest mining hole in the Southern hemisphere. They have been digging gold out of this pit for over a century. Big machines, mostly Cat but Hitarchi, Komatsu, P and N. Most Thai operators would get a job there if the visas allowed  

[fruitman]

12 hours ago, Allstars said:

 

Am I missing something?

 

They dug 6 meter deep holes by hand?

Yes sir all by hand in a few hours and after that they put the concrete piles in the holes and pressed them down by jumping on it.

 

They have special scoops for that on very long poles which they can connect to extend them to 8 metres.

 

The only thing they didn't do perfect is to fill the holes with sand/water...they left some empty space next to the piles and planned to pour concrete over that. But my neighbour told them to fill the holes with sand so it will all be perfectly piled.

 

They also forgot to put extend the hoses for the termite control system and the electric for the waterpump. But that is being done today before the concrete comes.

 

So i'm not impressed with all they forgot but those guys who drill 6 meter deep holes by hand sure impressed me.

[mtls2005]

Thirteen? Rookies.