After the collapse of Bangkok, in fear

When the land started swinging under her home in Bangkok on Friday, Kanittha Thepasak believed that it was simply dizzy. Then I heard a strange sound, saw a lamp moving and threw a curtain to find cars like boats at sea.

The streets were full of people who rushed outside, staring at residential buildings, glass office towers and incomplete construction around them. Now, ThePasak was barely imagined to return to the office as she spent most of her days. It is on the twenty -ninth floor.

She said, “I was afraid, I am worried.” “The Thai people do not have a fundamental understanding of earthquakes because we never test them.”

On Friday, the earthquake that destroyed Myanmar caused a much less damage to the neighboring Thailand, but the massive power of it – 7.7 – alone Bangkok, the city of the towers, in the streets. On Sunday, two days later, such as the government and Thai engineers inspection Hundreds of damaged structures to ensure their occupation, were still dark ideas of routine that are increasingly living and doing dozens of stories above Earth.

The scene of the most destructive catastrophe in Thailand came from the complete collapse of the Bangkok building was under construction. At least 11 workers were reported from Sunday, and with the presence of other missing dozens, rescue sets continued to withdraw carefully at the rubble with dozens of excavators and eight trained dogs to find the dead and living.

Andy Redmond, a member of the K9 team, said that all signs on Sunday indicated the bodies, with an overwhelming smell that dogs are struggling to locate individual remains.

“It is an educational curve,” he said, and it rests between the research tasks that he kept on the site since Friday afternoon. “You cannot train on this.”

It appears that the dramatic building’s fall is engraved in the minds of many, which changes how residents see their city. About a decade ago, Bangkok was in the event of its movement, up and out, with a construction boom fed by the expansion of its metro and Skytrain.

But now, with at least dozens of cranes hovering above the horizon, skeletons of steel and gray concrete that indicate that economic growth has taken fateful quality.

Somrental Nilbanjong, 34, found herself staring at one of these buildings in the city center on Sunday afternoon as she walks home. She was asked what she was thinking about, she said: “He just scares me to look at him.”

The small construction elevator went out to the outside through pink scaffolding. She moved on her phone until she found a picture of the rubble mountain a few miles away – the collapsed building, Bangkok, the earth.

Oza bumps appeared on her arms, and shook.

She said, “I am afraid that this will happen again.”

Government officials tried to calm people’s nerves and keep people update.

Immediately after the earthquake, the Prime Minister of Thailand issued Paitongtarn Shinawatra to be at urgent alert warning against the final tremors for 24 hours.

By the evening, it sought to reassure the public by announcing the stability of the situation and that the residents can return to their homes.

On Saturday, I installed on the high Bangkok railway, known as Skytrain, to show that the trains were safe. The system was closed after an earthquake and searched before most of the lines reopened.

But even with the appearance of the city towards normal life-shopping centers and markets are full, trains that revolve around the streets full of motorcycles-many people are struggling to address something they thought only occurred in other places, such as Japan or Taiwan.

ThePasak said that the experience was so confusing that her mind raced to memories of what she saw in Japanese comedy or manga, with moving disasters.

Many people said that they were not necessarily afraid, but they were forced to ask unexpected questions: behind the glass facades, are the buildings really safe? What if there are cracks that cannot be seen? What if there is a tremor after a giant?

Jiraporn Jaichob, 41, the owner of a drink booth when he was lunch when he hit Temblor, said he puts plans for future disasters.

He was considering buying a transistor radio because he watched mobile phone coverage. He also created a Go to his family with major documents and supplies.

“With this earthquake, we learned that we do not know what might happen on a specific day,” he said.

He added: “We can die anytime, anywhere, and I know, it is our destiny.” “But at least we take care of our lives where we can.”

Thailand promoted the Law of the An earthquake in 2007, and experts said that the vast majority of the city’s buildings were clearly strong enough to bear what was still considered a rare seismic event. However, some engineers have called for more potential scrutiny and promotion in standards and enforcement.

“Look at Japan – they continue to develop their laws and design,” said Swanswun, Professor of Civil Engineering at King Mongkot University and former Chairman of the Council of Engineers, Thailand. “We must do it too.”

The collapse of the 30 -storey building, which was rising next to a commercial center and the popular weekend market, may be a turning point. Dr. Swanosat said that he should not have had a grouping, indicating that there was something wrong with design, implementation or censorship.

After four years of construction, it was built by a state -owned Chinese company, the tenth engineering group of Chinese railway. The Thai government promised to investigate and report early results within a week.

But like a frightening collapse – the apartment tower in Surfside, Florida, which killed 98 people in 2021; Or the World Trade Center of terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 – The damage losses appear to be likely to remain.

Through Sunday, the shock, sadness and dust mixed in the air at the location of the collapse, where a large crowd was collected. Volunteer rescuers from the police and the army wear a solution to the session inside and outside the area. At one point, a crane carried observers on the top of the Rubble Mountain where men stare in the yellow hats from the bottom.

In an environment, the father of a Pakistani worker told reporters that people prayed in temples all over Thailand, and that he hoped at least half of the workers will come out.

Aubonrat Setnawet was still hoping for good news about her husband. It was on the twenty -third floor of the building when it hit the earthquake. There was also, working, but on the ground floor, not far from the place that sat on Sunday in a soft plastic chair near a solid metal fence.

On the market on the street, Jatupol Sawangphanich, 42, has a tape on metal garager that protects his works of tropical fish.

“Every time they raise the rubble, dust fly in this direction,” he said.

Next to it, the lights of the mall are usually crowded with darkness. Her structural safety still needs a test.

“This happened throughout Bangkok,” he said. “I prefer not to enter the long buildings at all.”