Bangkok and Nonthaburi residents were startled on Monday (19 June) as tremors from a 6.0-magnitude earthquake originating off the coast of Myanmar rattled the region. The seismic event prompted the evacuation of several schools and offices where the tremors could be felt.
A circulating online video clip captured the swaying of ceiling lamps on the 8th floor of the Hydro-Informatics Institute’s office in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district, a visible testament to the quake’s impact. Similarly, employees of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) were seen hastily fleeing their building.
According to the Meteorological Department, the earthquake occurred at 8:40 AM, taking place beneath the earth’s surface at a depth of 10 km off Myanmar’s southern coast. Reports of tremors flooded in from various areas of Bangkok, including Asok, Lat Phrao, Krung Thep Kritha, and Sam Yan, as well as regions in Nonthaburi.
The epicenter of the earthquake resided along the Sagaing Fault, an extensive fault line spanning 1,200 km across Myanmar in a north-to-south direction. This fault delineates the border between the western Burma tectonic plate and the Shan-Thai plate, each moving at a rate of 20 millimeters annually.
Later in the day, Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt, accompanied by seismology experts, disclosed that the detected tremors, as measured by seismic sensors, registered at a very low intensity that posed no threat to the city’s buildings. Governor Sittipunt emphasized the importance of fostering closer cooperation with seismic monitoring agencies to enhance public alerts in the future.
Furthermore, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) plans to bolster earthquake preparedness by conducting evacuation drills and heightening public awareness regarding appropriate responses during seismic activity, even though the likelihood of an earthquake occurring in Bangkok remains extremely slim.
