Quake leaves 55 Bangkok buildings unusable

[reader]

NOTE -- What struck me about the following article is what information it omitted. None of the unstable buildings are identified. Information about hotels and apartment buildings would be a major consideration in public awareness.

From The Thaiger

The Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning announced the results of building inspections following a recent earthquake.

Some 55 buildings have been deemed severely damaged and are prohibited from use. Meanwhile, 6,487 buildings remain operational, and 361 have moderate damage.

Yesterday, April 7, the Building Damage Inspection Centre, in collaboration with various engineering bodies including the Council of Engineers, Engineering Institute of Thailand, Building Inspectors Association, and private sector volunteer engineers, conducted inspections on buildings reported damaged.

The buildings were categorised into three groups for inspection and results were reported accordingly.

The first group included public buildings such as hospitals, schools, and government offices in Bangkok. The inspections, coordinated by the Department of Public Works and Town & Country Planning, found that out of 559 buildings inspected between March 28 and April 6, 511 were safe for use (green), 46 had moderate damage (yellow), and two were severely damaged and closed (red).

The second group involved private sector buildings such as high-rises, large-scale buildings, hotels, condominiums, dormitories, and shopping malls, which require annual inspections under building control laws.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is responsible for notifying building owners to conduct inspections as per orders issued on March 31 by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul. This includes structures like high-rise buildings, large complexes, entertainment venues, and residential blocks over specific size thresholds.

Continues at

https://thethaiger.com/news/bangkok/earthquake-leaves-55-buildings-unusable-inspections-continue

 

[bkkmfj2648]

5 minutes ago, reader said:

What struck me about the following article is what information it omitted. None of the unstable buildings are identified. Information about hotels and apartment buildings would be a major consideration in public awareness.

But TIT - so they need to protect the reputation of these places - as there could be defamation issues.....

The public will eventually find out if/when said building(s) might collapse ?

[khaolakguy]

33 minutes ago, reader said:

NOTE -- What struck me about the following article is what information it omitted. None of the unstable buildings are identified. Information about hotels and apartment buildings would be a major consideration in public awareness.

Agreed, this should be public information. 

[bkkmfj2648]

2 minutes ago, khaolakguy said:

Agreed, this should be public information. 

but the normal behavior of Thailand (TIT) is to no divulge anything that could hurt its reputation and/or create defamation issues.

I also agree that this information should be public information - but we are not Thai and we do not think in the Thai way....

[khaolakguy]

3 hours ago, bkkmfj2648 said:

I also agree that this information should be public information - but we are not Thai and we do not think in the Thai way....

I don't believe that is "thinking in the Thai way", but, as you previously hinted, it is about protecting the status quo and the guilty from accountability. I don't believe that this is about a national mentality, but about a corrupt system which is not unique to Thailand or Asia. Roll on the revolution(s)!

[bkkmfj2648]

9 hours ago, khaolakguy said:

I don't believe that is "thinking in the Thai way", but, as you previously hinted, it is about protecting the status quo and the guilty from accountability. I don't believe that this is about a national mentality, but about a corrupt system which is not unique to Thailand

I still disagree. 

I personally experienced this in the condo building where I live, when there was the unresolved tragedy, when an Italian national "fell" from the 19th floor naked to his death last year.

As I wanted to learn more than what was reported in the newspaper, I was ALWAYS made to understand to let it go from:

- building security team,

- juristic office,

- cleaning lady team,

- nearby friend who owns a bar in the Jomtien Complex,

- my gym.

In all cases, they told me (all were Thai) that this incident is a big inconvenience and the reputatation of the condo complex must be protected.

Consequently, to survive in peace here, I backed off with my research, as it was made VERY clear to me that I was damaging Thailand's reputation by pursuing what had already been swept under the carpet.