EARTHQUAKE / TREMORS FELT ACROSS THE COUNTRY
POST REPORTERS
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A powerful earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale, with its epicentre in northern Laos, jolted many parts of the country yesterday, shaking buildings in downtown Bangkok and toppling spires of ancient temples in Chiang Rai.
No injuries were reported as a result of the quake which lasted about 30 seconds.
Tremors were also felt in Hanoi in Vietnam, but there were no reports of any major damage or injuries there or in Laos around the epicentre of the quake.
Many buildings in Bangkok and other affected provinces shook although no visible structural damage was reported.
Apichai Chvajarernpun, chief of the Mineral Resources Department, said the widespread tremors could be felt from Chiang Rai to Bangkok as the source of the quake was 10 km below ground, which is considered shallow.
The department detected the earthquake at 3.56pm. It was centred in northern Laos, only 95km from Chiang Rai. A 6.1 magnitude quake is usually capable of damaging buildings.
In Chiang Rai’s Muang district, panic-stricken patients from the three-storey Prachanukroh hospital were assisted as they rushed to evacuate the building.
Trembling glass windows in other areas caused people to flee their hotels.
The most intense tremors were felt in Chiang Saen district, some 30km from the epicentre of the quake where cement and bricks fell from the 1,000 year-old Wat Prathat Chedi Luang.
A one-foot golden spire on top of Wat Phra That Jomkitti snapped and fell while the lotus-shaped tip of Wat Pasak also broke off.
‘‘This could be the biggest quake ever experienced in the North,’’ said Smith Dharmasarojana, chairman of the National Disaster Warning Administration Committee.
Other northern provinces, such as Chiang Mai and Phayao, also felt tremors of differing intensities. In Phayao’s Phu Sang sub-district, a villager said his house was ‘‘swaying like a hammock’’.
In Bangkok, employees in buildings in Klong Toey and on Silom, Sathorn, and Phetchaburi roads were seen pouring out onto the streets following the quake.
Earthquakes are rarely felt to any great degree in the capital, so yesterday’s tremors caused concern among many residents.
Arunee Achakulwisut, a company employee on the 18th floor of the Ocean Tower in Asoke, said it was a frightening experience.
‘‘I was tossed from side to side while typing on my computer,’’ she said
Chutamas Suthipanyo, of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand working on the 20th floor of the Maneeya Building on Phloenchit road, said staff in her office were panicked by the tremors.
Other provinces affected by the quake include Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Kamphaeng Phet, Tak and Udon Thani.
Pennung Warnitchai, a project leader of the National Earthquake Mitigation Programme, said tall buildings in Bangkok are at risk because soil in the capital is very soft, which worsens the effects of the vibrations.
Bron: Bangkok Post 17 May 2007