BANGKOK, 13 May 2015 – The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) is ready to distribute manuals to operators of old buildings to educate them on how to deal with the effects of an earthquake.
The move came in response to surveys which indicated that buildings constructed before 1997 had not been designed to resist tremors as required by the present laws. The Public Works Department is in the process of issuing to operators of older buildings 20,000 manuals on how to reduce the danger to residents in the event of an earthquake .
The Public Works Department will also instruct the buildings’ owners to improve the buildings’ structures in line with correct engineering practices. Buildings which were designed in accordance with the 1997 ministerial regulations should be able to withstand a tremor.
The Public Works Department currently has in its care 67 abandoned buildings from 41 projects, most of which previously belonged to operators facing financial difficulties.
