Chiang Mai Province: Officials rush to inspect buildings and tall buildings. Initially, they ordered a ban on residents in 3 condominiums. They rushed to inspect the building structures, especially the Duangtawan Condominium in Soi Kret, in the middle of the city. The CCTV footage recorded the moment the earthquake occurred at 1:11 p.m. yesterday in the parking lot. It caused motorcycles, pickup trucks, and the building's pillars to shake violently before residents inside the condominium were seen running for their lives.
According to Thai News Agency, after the incident, the Chiang Mai Municipality Engineering Office inspected the building and found many cracks in the pillars, so they ordered the building closed for fear that it would collapse as it is an old condo in Chiang Mai, built more than 35 years ago.
Aunt Pranee, 73 years old, who lives in this condo, said that when the earthquake happened, she was so shocked that she ran until she forgot her age. When she saw the condition, she did not dare to go back in and stay there. She had to go outside to sleep first.
Recently, this morning, Mr. Nirat Phongsitthaworn, Chiang Mai Governor, along with the Provincial Civil and Urban Planning Officer, the Director of the Center of Excellence in Natural Disaster Management, Chiang Mai University, and relevant agencies went to inspect the Duangtawan Condominium. The Chiang Mai Governor said that after the inspection, it was found that the building is still not suitable for residents to live in. They have to wait for engineers to inspect the building structure first.
In Chiang Mai Province, there are 3 high-rise condominiums, both at Duangtawan and 2 more at the Children's Court intersection, which are still not allowed to be occupied until the structural strength is inspected. In particular, at Duangtawan Condominium, a team of technicians was sent to inspect and found that it was not a crack in the wall, but a crack in the pillar. Residents cannot live there because they are worried that if there is another earthquake, it will be dangerous. Currently, the technician team has been contacted to fix the initial structural problems first, to see what can be done. However, residents were not harmed at this point because they have all been evacuated. As for the other 2 condominiums, Supalai Monte 1 and 2, people have already been evacuated because the buildings were cracked. After the earthquake in Chiang Mai Province, all 25 districts were affected, but 7 districts were damaged, including ancient sites and houses. Today, the province will conduct another survey.
It was reported that after the earthquake, the Prime Minister immediately called to inquire, expressing his concern because he saw that Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces were closest to Myanmar. The governor had already reported that there was some damage and cracks.