BANGKOK: A total of 3,375 government buildings have been impacted by the 8.2-magnitude earthquake near Mandalay, Myanmar, on Friday (March 28), the Interior Ministry’s Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning (DPT) reported on Wednesday.
Among the affected buildings, 34 were severely damaged, with 31 of them located in provincial areas, according to the DPT.
The department’s Damage Assessment Centre for Buildings Affected by the Earthquake has been working alongside the Council of Engineers Thailand, the Engineering Institute of Thailand, the Association of Building Inspectors, and 110 volunteer engineers from the private sector to inspect government buildings reported to be damaged by the earthquake.
In the Bangkok metropolitan area, a total of 367 buildings have been inspected, with 334 found to be in safe condition.
Thirty buildings have sustained moderate damage but are still useable, while three buildings and one connection bridge sustained severe damage and have been prohibited from use.
In provincial areas, 3,008 buildings were inspected, with 2,796 found to be in safe condition. A total of 181 buildings sustained moderate damage but remain useable, while 31 buildings suffered severe damage and were also prohibited from use.
Overall, 3,375 government buildings have been inspected nationwide. Of these, 3,130 are in safe condition, 221 have moderate damage but remain useable, and 34 have been severely damaged and are at risk of collapse.
The DPT has urged owners of high-rise buildings, hotels, condominiums, dormitories, and shopping malls to hire certified inspectors to perform damage assessments in line with the department’s guidelines for initial structural damage surveys following the earthquake.
On Sunday, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt called on the owners of approximately 11,000 buildings across the capital to assess their safety in light of the earthquake, stressing that the request was for cooperation. - The Nation/ANN
