BANGKOK DANGEROUS

On March 26, a powerful earthquake hit Myanmar and its cataclysmic shock waves reached Bangkok, causing the State Audit Office building to collapse. Since most Thai lack an understanding and the Thai Earthquake Research and Information (TERI) and Chulalongkorn University organised forums to provide knowledge to the public.

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The forum “Coping With Earthquake,” organised by TSRI, Prof Pennueng Vanichchai, director of the Earthquake Research Centre of Thailand (EARTH), stated that 20 years ago, EARTH had predicted that a Sagaying fault in Myanmar would cause a disastrous earthquake.

Prof Pennueng explained that the quake caused by the Sagaing Fault is one of three main scenarios. EARTH predicted. But nobody believes the other two earthquake scenarios are along fault lines in Kanchanaburi and the Arakan subduction zone.

The fault line in Kanchanaburi, which produced the magnitude-six earthquake in 1983, is approximately 200km from Bangkok. According to EARTH, this fault line can trigger an earthquake of 7.0 to 7.5-magnitude.

Meanwhile, located on the western coast of Myanmar, the Arakan subduction zone can cause an earthquake of 8.5to 9-magnitude. This subduction zone has produced several earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or greater, with most recent occurring in 1762.

These three earthquake scenarios were predicted to occur and affect Thailand, but the specific year could not be predicted.

Prof Pennueng explained that although the impact of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that hit Myanmar and caused extensive damage to buildings and resulted in casualties should have been a warning for Bangkok due to its soft soil basin.

EARTH researchers knew two decades ago that Bangkok’s soft soil basin would lead to severe damage from shockwaves from a nearby earthquake.