Earthquake Shakes Bangkok: A Personal Account
When the ground beneath her home in Bangkok began to tremble on Friday, Kanittha Thepasak initially thought she was experiencing a bout of dizziness. However, as she heard an unusual creaking noise and witnessed a lamp swaying back and forth, she quickly threw aside a curtain and was struck by the sight of cars rocking like boats caught in a storm.
The streets were soon filled with people who had hastily evacuated their buildings, gazing up at the towering apartment complexes, glass office skyscrapers, and unfinished construction sites surrounding them. Now, Ms. Kanittha finds it difficult to envision returning to her office, which is located on the 29th floor. “I’m absolutely freaked out; I’m genuinely worried,” she expressed, adding, “Thai people have very little understanding of earthquakes because we rarely experience them.”
The earthquake that wreaked havoc in Myanmar on Friday caused significantly less destruction in neighboring Thailand. Nevertheless, the sheer magnitude of the quake, recorded at 7.7, sent shockwaves that emptied Bangkok, a bustling city filled with towering structures, into the streets below. By Sunday, two days later, as Thai government officials and engineers conducted inspections of hundreds of damaged buildings to assess their safety for occupancy, the unsettling thoughts of living and working in high-rise environments were still prevalent.
The most catastrophic incident in Thailand was the complete collapse of a construction site in Bangkok. Reports confirmed that at least 11 workers lost their lives, while 76 others remained unaccounted for. Rescue teams diligently continued their efforts, carefully sifting through the debris with the help of a dozen excavators and eight specially trained dogs, tasked with locating both the deceased and any survivors.
