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Earthquake north of Chiang Rai - effects in Bangkok


Stickman

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I felt it, but my floor is near the top of a taller office building. The first thing I noticed was the blinds swaying and feeling a bit out of balance (dizzy is probably too strong a word for the sensation).

 

I don't think any of the Thais on my floor have ever experienced an earthquake before and it took a few moments for them to realize what it was. It wasn't dramatic and we didn't evacuate the building, but work came to a screeching halt as eveyone got on their mobile telephones. The first thought that came to my mind was "earthquake safety standards - not."

 

I have never felt one before in Thailand, and although it was unique, it seemed pretty mild. I don't think you would have noticed if you were on the ground.

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This for sure was the strongest quake I ever felt in Chiang Mai.

 

Mild tremors are pretty common (couple times a year) and mostly I completely don't notice them. The one before this one I felt only because I was sitting directly with my bum on the ground in the grass; my wife who was walking around in the same area didn't even notice.

 

But this one today was very different! Previous ones were always short and sort of a brief up-down shake. This one was more prolonged and side-to-side, causing a very dizzying effect. (But nothing beyond what I experience ever Friday night out. :) )

 

Initially it 'felt' like 30 seconds but in hindsight I think people are prone to overestimate the duration of such things and it was probably closer to 15 seconds or so.

 

Of course everyone and their dog starts calling each other so the mobile networks were busy. My wife though was online on MSN and Skype so I just asked "I see you're still online, so can I assume your office building is still standing upright?"

 

I filled in the quake report form and clicked the checkbox for 'moderate', though all the questions after that led me to believe it was actually 'very light'. ("Did heavy appliances like the fridge move side to side?", "did you hear cracking noises?", "do you still have windows and a roof?", etc. :D )

 

Cheers,

Chanchao

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