Editor's Note: We are anxious for any news of our colleagues in UNICEF and XUNICEF who may have been affected by the major earthquake yesterday. Bruce Kennedy and Guy Scandlen have been in touch with Doreen Lobo as below. If anyone else is in contact or has news of others, please let us know.
From Bruce Kennedy
Thanks for your concern, Doreen. I have spoken to our colleague, David Parker's wife, Iris who described the panic she and others in Bangkok felt when the earthquake struck. She was on the fifth floor of Terminal 21, a major shopping center at the time. Fortunately the Thai culture of mutual respect prevailed and people exited the building in an efficient but courteous way helping each other as needed.
I was at my home in Chiangrai at the time. Although it is much closer to the quake center, I didn't feel anything. Almost an hour later though I did feel a 4.9 aftershock which was much closer to me near Mae Hong Song. All that did was make some things in my house shake a little bit.
I suspect Bangkok is like Christchurch: it is built on swamp land. This type of soil tends to magnify the waves emanating from the quake zone. The building which collapsed in Bangkok was probably not built to the official building code standards. Actually very few buildings in developing countries conform to those codes so a bigger closer earthquake is likely to be disastrous. Fortunately Bangkok is far from the usual quake zones.
Chiangrai where I live is just 30 km from the Mae Jan fault which is long overdue for a shift. Fortunately the land around here is well drained, long settled soil. Few buildings are more than two stories high. My own house has deep foundations and no cracks have appeared in the walls even though there have been at least five shakes since we built it 23 years ago.
So I am not worried.
Cheers
Bruce
From Bruce Kennedy
Thanks for your concern, Doreen. I have spoken to our colleague, David Parker's wife, Iris who described the panic she and others in Bangkok felt when the earthquake struck. She was on the fifth floor of Terminal 21, a major shopping center at the time. Fortunately the Thai culture of mutual respect prevailed and people exited the building in an efficient but courteous way helping each other as needed.
I was at my home in Chiangrai at the time. Although it is much closer to the quake center, I didn't feel anything. Almost an hour later though I did feel a 4.9 aftershock which was much closer to me near Mae Hong Song. All that did was make some things in my house shake a little bit.
I suspect Bangkok is like Christchurch: it is built on swamp land. This type of soil tends to magnify the waves emanating from the quake zone. The building which collapsed in Bangkok was probably not built to the official building code standards. Actually very few buildings in developing countries conform to those codes so a bigger closer earthquake is likely to be disastrous. Fortunately Bangkok is far from the usual quake zones.
Chiangrai where I live is just 30 km from the Mae Jan fault which is long overdue for a shift. Fortunately the land around here is well drained, long settled soil. Few buildings are more than two stories high. My own house has deep foundations and no cracks have appeared in the walls even though there have been at least five shakes since we built it 23 years ago.
So I am not worried.
Cheers
Bruce
Good you are safe. So is Tharn.
ReplyDeleteTim Schaffter and his wife, Diana, live in a high rise in town. (You may remember before he retired he was the Rep in North Korea.)
ReplyDeleteTheir building was quite damaged: ceilings on the outside hallways fell, etc. They spent a night or two in a hotel. You may want to write to them. Then of course a lot of UNICEF Thai staff. Some of them have been posting on Facebook.
Thanks for keeping in touch.
Guy
I just heard from Victor Karunan who lives in Bangkok - he is safe
ReplyDelete