Shakes, swaying and rubble. The impact of an was so strong the tremors even rocked the Thai capital of Bangkok, with one high-rise building dramatically collapsing.
On Saturday, the long rescue effort for those trapped under the rubble was ongoing. Thai authorities initially said up to 110 people could be missing, but with numbers fluctuating until the operation of recovery is over, that number is subject to change. At least eight people have been confirmed dead in Bangkok.
Rescue operations now face a race against time. There is a critical 72-hour window to reach those trapped, with some thought to be meters underground.
Suriyan Rawiwan, director of the Bangkok Fire and Rescue Department, told local media that 15 people had been located with signs of life.
Throughout Saturday, more and more family members arrived at the site, some visibly upset, crying and hoping for answers.
An unprecedented earthquake
When the quake struck on Friday, buildings wobbled, windows smashed, and thousands of people across the city center . Locals were shocked, calling an earthquake in Bangkok almost unprecedented.
The rumbling was caused by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake that hit near Mandalay and Sagaing in Myanmar at lunchtime on Friday, causing untold destruction there.
Temples, bridges, buildings and homes have been turned to blocks and dust. Myanmar’s military administration said over 1,000 have been killed and over 2,300 more injured. They’ve pled for international help.
But for Thailand, this is an unusual situation, especially for the capital.
Having spent many years in Asia, this was my first in the kingdom, like for many others. The tremors jolted me to the right side of my bed in my high-rise apartment, and, at first, I believed it was because of some construction work. I soon discovered people in the building panicking and evacuating. As I raced down 20 floors of stairs, ceilings were cracking, and water was leaking. It was time to get out.
Tourists downtown in the capital were also in disbelief as the tremors rumbled through the city. Some were sobbing, others were calling home to their loved ones. Thousands were out on the city streets, trying to stay away from multi-story buildings.
Annis Jongpraset, a Thai national and assistant manager at the Rembrandt Hotel in Bangkok, has lived in the city all of her life.
“It’s never happened in my life. I’ve never experienced this here before,” she told DW.
One German national, Hans S, is spending two months on holiday in Thailand. He was in disbelief at what had happened.
“I was laying on my bed and I felt something moving. I thought it was my blood pressure and got up to check it. Then [the tremors] were stronger. I was on the 29th floor of my hotel,” he told DW.
Hans, like thousands of other tourists, quickly left their hotels. Scenes of rocking buildings, rooftop swimming pools spilling and debris falling were also seen throughout the capital.
Drones and sniffer dogs help rescue efforts
But the main damage was to the 30-story building in Bangkok’s Bang Sue district in Chatuchak.
Opposite the JJ Mall and nearby the buzzing Chatuchak market, the building under construction collapsed, causing a huge plume of smoke to rise up from the site.
Over a hundred workers, including many migrant workers from Myanmar, were working on the building prior to its collapse.
Saturday’s rescue efforts include the use of drone technology, sniffer dogs and cranes. But the damage is clear, and a huge amount of concrete debris still remains.
Andrew Storey, a British expat from northeastern England, was in his work office on the 29th floor of the ENCO building in Chatuchak. He saw the massive building collapse.
“The scariest moment was when I looked across and saw the building across Chatuchak Park collapse and it suddenly was engulfed in dust,” he told DW.
Assurances from the authorities
Friday’s quake prompted Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to announce a state of emergency for Bangkok but assured the population that Thailand’s buildings were earthquake resistant and they could return to their homes.
Authorities extended opening times for public parks for those who were concerned by potential aftershocks from the earthquake or could not return home because of the unusually bad traffic in and around Bangkok.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration has also said it was sending 130 volunteer engineers to inspect high-rise buildings across the capital.
But the shock of Friday’s event is still filtering throughout the city. The mood is muted; people are looking for information about exactly what happened and where, whether it could happen again and what can be done ot stay safe.
Safety issues will soon prompt more questions to the authorities, and investigations are likely. Earthquakes of this magnitude rarely happen in Bangkok, and even the devastating impacts of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia barely affected the capital.
What is concerning is when the tremors slammed the city, no one, not even the authorities, expected it. Time will tell whether further safety precautions and alert systems will be improved to give the population a firmer warning if this were to happen again.
Edited by: Andreas Illmer
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