Capital at risk in future quake

‘Unique geography’ makes it vulnerable

- MONGKOL BANGPRAPA

While the likelihood of Bangkok experiencing another major earthquake similar to the one that occurred in Myanmar on March 28 remains very low, experts say the city may be significantly affected by quakes along two fault lines in the region, which have been dormant for quite some time.

The experts made the remarks at the Bangkok Post Knowledge Forum 2025 “after the Quake: From Lessons to Prevention. What We Must Know When the World Shifts’, held at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Communication Arts yesterday.

Prof Pennung Warnitchai, chair of the Structural Engineering programme at the Asian Institute of Technology, told the forum that a previous study had identified three major fault lines that could potentially trigger a strong earthquake impacting Bangkok.

They are the Kanchanaburi Fault in western Thailand, which could produce a quake of magnitude 7.0-7.5, the Sagaing Fault in Myanmar, with the potential for a magnitude 8.0 event, and the Arakan Subduction Zone in the Andaman Sea, which could generate a powerful quake ranging from magnitude 8.5 to 9.0.