BANGKOK: The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has issued an urgent statement confirming that dams in Kanchanaburi and nearby provinces remain unaffected and structurally safe following a 2.4-magnitude earthquake that occurred in Kanchanaburi Province on Monday night (April 14).
The earthquake struck at 7:52 pm, with the epicentre located in Tha Khanun Subdistrict, Thong Pha Phum District, Kanchanaburi Province, at a depth of 1 kilometre, according to the Thai Meteorological Department’s Earthquake Observation Division.
In EGAT’s statement, Kamrit Baiyam, Director of Civil Maintenance, said the authority is closely monitoring the quake’s impact on nearby dams and emphasised that the tremor was very minor.
He reported that the epicentre, located at 12.8210°N, 99.6680°E, was approximately 7.81 kilometres east of Vajiralongkorn Dam, 67.57 kilometres northwest of Srinagarind Dam, and 271.52 kilometres south of Bhumibol Dam in Tak Province.
EGAT confirmed that the quake had no effect on the structural integrity of Vajiralongkorn, Srinagarind, Bhumibol, or any other EGAT-managed dams.
Sakon Aksornthanawat, Director of Vajiralongkorn Dam, added that at 9:29 PM of Monday, security personnel conducted on-site inspections at the Vajiralongkorn Dam crest and found that ground acceleration recorded at the dam was 0.01570 g — significantly below the design threshold of 0.1 g. This confirms the tremor was mild and posed no structural risk.
Ground acceleration readings at Srinagarind and Bhumibol dams were 0.00035 g and 0.00213 g, respectively. - The Nation/ANN
