Quake In The North

[Flashermac]

7 Chiang Rai districts named disaster zones

 

 

THREE PROVINCES in the North are still struggling with the impact of Thailand's strongest earthquake in decades.

 

Houses, hotels, hospitals, schools, shops and temples have sustained damage, with services disrupted at many businesses.

 

Casualties were reported in Chiang Rai, the hardest-hit province, with the epicentre of Monday's 6.3-magnitude quake in its Phan district.

 

An 83-year-old local woman was fatally injured when a section of her house wall fell on her. She later succumbed to her injuries at hospital.

 

"The quake has also injured 23 other victims," Chatchai Phromlert, Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department director-general, said yesterday.

 

Seven districts of Chiang Rai have been declared disaster-hit zones in the wake of the big quake.

 

More than 100 aftershocks were recorded yesterday, with some reaching a magnitude of well over 5.

 

The Chiang Rung Hotel in Phan district is closed temporarily to repair damage from the quake.

 

"It will take one or two months to fix it all," said the hotel's owner, Manas Chanprasit.

 

He said Monday's quake shook his four-storey hotel seriously and frightened his guests.

 

"They rushed out of their rooms and scurried to the ground floor, and the power went out."

 

Kriangkrai Weerarittipan, honorary chairman of the Chiang Rai Industry Council, said the province's business sector was hit hard, as stocked goods were damaged and several shops would have to close.

 

Phanphittayakhom School in Phan district is closed and the building declared a danger zone.

 

"Experts have examined our main building and warned us the structure is at risk of crumbling," the school's director Sanong Sujarit said.

 

He said the school building was leaning backward towards a public road, prompting authorities to declare the road off-limits too.

 

According to the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, at least two roads were damaged in Chiang Rai.

 

The Highways Department closed some sections of Highway 118 yesterday for safety reasons as officials fixed deep splits in the road surface.

 

The National Office of Buddhism said 12 temples in Chiang Rai had suffered from quake damage. Among the badly hit is the world-famous Wat Rong Khun.

 

Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Narong Sahametapat confirmed that the quake had caused serious damage to Mae Lao Hospital in Chiang Rai.

 

"With all the cracks and damage, the building's steel structure is now visible," he said.

 

As an emergency measure, he said medical staff had erected tents to provide services to patients.

 

Narong said its 17 inpatients had been transferred to another hospital nearby.

 

He added that some other hospitals also reported cracks but all could still function and operate their services.

 

Flight and train services to the quake-hit North have continued as usual. There is no damage reported to train tracks, according to preliminary inspections by the State Railway of Thailand.

 

Chiang Rai Airport can still facilitate flight landings and take-offs.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/7-Chiang-Rai-districts-named-disaster-zones-30233041.html

[Flashermac]

 

[Flashermac]

Locals in a panic as waves of tremors continue rippling through North

 

 

SEVERAL WAVES of aftershocks from Monday's 6.3-magnitude earthquake have left villagers in Chiang Rai's Phan district, the epicentre, trembling in fear.

 

"This was the strongest and worst earthquake in my life," four months pregnant Nam-Oui Somphon said yesterday morning after medical staff at Phan Hospital announced an evacuation.

 

Patients, their relatives and staff were ordered to exit the hospital and gather at tents deployed at the park beside the outpatient building.

 

Patients with mild symptoms were told to go home while those with severe symptoms were admitted at the hospital.

 

The roof of a dormitory inside the hospital had crashed to the ground and its columns had snapped.

 

The women's patients building was also damaged as well as a new wing.

 

The Chiang Rung Hotel, located in the middle of the district, suffered a cracked wall.

 

"I'll spend more than Bt300,000 to repair my hotel," Manas Chanprasit told The Nation.

 

He would suspend activities at the property for a few weeks to allow agencies to investigate the soundness of the building.

 

According to the provincial public works and town and country planning offices, the hotel's structure appeared to remain in good condition, but further investigation was needed.

 

Phanpittayakhom School's main building almost collapsed as its main structure broke apart.

 

The school's director Sanong Sucharit said this building cannot be used in the future as it would be dangerous for everyone. He might ask the Education Ministry to provide more budget to construct a new building.

 

The tremor was a nightmare for Kittiphat Veeranonburaphat, a local villager in Mae Lao district whose house toppled over and inflicted a huge loss on him.

 

He had just borrowed Bt2 million from a bank to build the house. It needed only four more months to be finished, but his dreams of living in that house were completely destroyed.

 

"Even though I don't have a house anymore, I will build a new one as long as I'm still alive," he said.

 

 

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Locals-in-a-panic-as-waves-of-tremors-continue-rip-30233042.html

[Boo Radley]

Videos showing staff and customers running out of hotel lobbies, shops and restaurants etc during yesterday's earthquake:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPK8iO-YK98

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCu4-T7Njn0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie_ih0qcnog

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPOopHEJccc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7DOQR1cyes

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zDacqD8XBA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xws0B31qm7U (customers fleeing internet cafe)