Will Bangkok fall out of love with skyscrapers after earthquake rocks city? | Earthquakes News

Bangkok, Thailand – In the surge metropolis that, the Center of Bangkok, Methinee Phoovatis, monitored a small computer screen, hoping to find signs of survivors.

Around Methinee, other members of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DDPM) of Thailand coordinated the dishes of rescue workers who moved along a path that led to a huge mound of debris.

The rescue teams worked in shifts, looking for any indication of life under the cement and steel hill that rose on them.

“We just expect a miracle that some of the people are still alive,” said Methinee, an analyst at plans and policies in the DDPM, Al Jazeera.

It was four days after an earthquake of magnitude.

“We are doing everything possible for people. Hopefully, they are still alive,” he said, standing next to a blackboard that shows the count of 73 people who were still missing under the debris of the 30 -story unfammed building, what Rich was the office of the office.

The earthquake that shook the Thai capital was particularly shallow, only 10 km (6.2 miles) deep, which intensified the shock waves on the surface of the earth.

Thought located more than 1,200 km (750 miles) of the epicenter in Myanmar, where thousands died, the earthquake put Bangkok to a dead point. In panic, the residents of this city of more than 11 million people rushed to the streets in search of security when the buildings swayed and shuddered.

A month later, life in the Thai capital has returned to normal.

But the deans of the deaths were in the place of the building of the collapsed audit office, and the shock of the events of March 28 has promoted Conerns to some in Bangkok about the security of the life of great height in the 12th highest city in the world.

‘People shouted’

A sudden sensation of nausea and the scale of lamps inside his apartment in the ninth floor of a 41 -story building told Harry Yang that he was in danger.

“I ran to my balcony and everything was trembling,” said the 29 -year -old retention, which called Bangkok his home since his birth.

“People shouted,” he said.

Throwing the stairs of the fire escape, Yang thought immediately or that he was the father who lives on the 32nd floor in another large building in Bangkok and has problems with mobility.

Althegh his father, who works an old trafficker, came out of order of order, the earthquake destroyed many of his antiques and left him terrified.

“My dad is 68 years old, he has problems of delay and needed to climb” the stairs to reach the ground floor, Yang said.

People had good reasons to be afraid. The video clips on social networks that show Bangkok shakes, with debris that fall to the ground and water pouring torrents of infinite skyscrapers.

Laphutch Lertsachanant was in his condominium on the 27th floor when he hit the earthquake.

“The building literally moved from side to side. I really felt at that time that the building could be cut in half,” said Lapaphutch.

“I really thought I would not survive,” he added, remembering his desire to talk to his partner one last time by phone. “I thought I could have my last words with him. He would be with me in my last living moments.”

Althhehe Sismic Events in the widest region of Southeast Asia is common, the earthquake scale that hit Myanmar, where more than 3,700 people were killed, and shook Bangkok by surprise.

Wang Yu, an associated professor at the Geosciences Department of the National University of Taiwan, said Myanmar is directly in a tectonic failure line, the saga fault and the earthquake of March 28 occurred after a sliding failure of India and Eurasia.

According to the United States Geological Service (USGS), a strike slide refers to a tectonic failure where two plates move horizontally with each other. Since 1900, the USGS reports that six other large earthquakes with a magnitude of 7.0 or more have occurred within the 250 km (155 miles) of the epicenter in Myanmar of the earthquake of March 28.

Bangkok is based on an unstable ground basin that can increase the effect of these earthquakes, Wang Yu explained.

“When a seismic wave is transmitted from the outside to the basin, the amplitude of the seismic wave will be expanded,” he said.

But the reason for which the building in the center of Bangkok collapsed remains under investigation. No other building in Bangkok suffered such a catastrophic failure, although many structural damage suffered. The officials in Thailand have launched an investigation to assess whether the appropriate construction protocols were followed.

‘Earthquake resistant design’

Thailand first introduced the seismic regulations on buildings in 1997. In 2007, the new legislation specified that buildings greater than 15 meters (49 feet) in high -risk areas such as Bangkok must resist earthquakes of up to magnitude. Two years later, in 2009, the Department of Public Works and Thai

Given these construction and engineering regulations, questions have been asked about how the building almost built in Bangkok could collapse.

“I think we need to find the cause of the root, so at least we can learn some lessons and improve construction regulations,” said Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt Sittipunt Sittipunt shortly after the earthquake, since local authorities moved from buildings and evaluate the buildings and evaluate.

Until now, most have a leg considered to meet safety standards.

On April 3, only six days after the earthquake, Bangkok’s metropolitan authority declared the end of the “disaster situation” in Bangkok, except the building’s collapse site.

Now a month after disaster, some residents are still worried since superficial cracks and other damage to their high -height residences have contributed to persistent feelings of insecurity.

Although the engineers declared that their apartment was safe to live, Varuth Pongsapipatt, 32, found the series of cracks running along the walls of their a little disturbing apartment, but I was dealing with that.

“It’s quite afraid, but it has no effect on the structure of the building, so it is fine,” he told Al Jazeera.

With the elevator in his condominium out of service after the earthquake, Lapaphutch said he was forced to move to the parents’ house for almost three weeks, and that he was not in a hurry to return to his place on the 27th floor.

“I don’t feel safe again living in a tall building,” he said.

Harry Yang said his father had refused to return to his 32 -story house, worried that replicas could occur.

“My parents are really worried. My dad has been staying in a hotel since the earthquake occurred,” Yang told Al Jazeera earlier this month.

Slow response

The research carried out by the Administration of the National Institute for Development of Thailand (NIDA) after the earthquake discovered that 8 percent of respondents were concerned about the stability and safety of buildings.

For some, the effect on the real estate market was also a concern.

“I’m more concerned about properties prices,” Yang said.

“I think this will have a great impact on the real estate market and consumer confidence. Many people are trying to find a way to move,” he said.

After the earthquake, Thai financial analysts predicted that condominium sales could be potential buyers who think twice before buying a large building in Bangkok, exercising more pressure on the country’s real estate sector.

“The March 28 Earthquake is expectted to create a Windfall for Low-Rise Houses, which are percecedted as less vulnerable to sixmic Events. Bang-Rise-Ray-RedPaper, “The Bang-Rise-Ray-RedPaper,” The Bang-Rise-Redpaper, “The Bang-Rise Condospaper,” The Bangrisdaire Housew this month.

The earthquake also exposed serious deficiencies in Thailand’s emergency alert system.

There, an earthquake warning system was supposed to keep the Thai public updated with information, the warning messages could only be sent in 20000 lots at the same time, creating a bottleneck that slowed communications in a country of almost 72 million.

Harry Yang said Neinder or his parents received any emergency response message. They were forced to look for information online after the earthquake blow.

Week after the earthquake, the Bangkok Resident Paphutch also said that I had never received emergency information.

“We really need this son of the system that can alert us,” he said. “Everyone in Thailand should review these children with notifications to prepare us well.”

The survey by NIDA showed that almost 60 percent of respondents were concerned about the effectiveness of early warning systems. Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinatra has asked for updates to the system to increase the transmission capacity of alert lots to 1 million at the same time, according to local reports.

Despite the challenges, Thailand came out of the relatively unscathed tremor.

Only meters from the 30 -story collapsed building site, the Bangkok’s Chatuchak weekend market was already full of tours just a few days after the earthquake, and the events seemed almost a distant memory in a city that never really sleeps.

Harry Yang agreed.

Bangkok residents initially felt scared, but that would happen, he said.

“It will possibly return to normal.”