Thai dams untouched by Laos quake
The 5.8-magnitude earthquake near Laos’ Luang Prabang area on Monday morning has not affected the structural integrity of dams in the North of Thailand, the Royal Irrigation Department (RID) said.
The Thai Meteorological Department reported that a tremor was felt at 4.06am in the provinces of Nan, Loei, Khon Kaen, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Phrae, Phayao, Uttaradit and Udon Thani. The quake’s epicentre was the Dien Bien Phu fault zone, about 20km from Nan’s Chaloem Phrakiat district.
“On Monday we sent engineers and analysts to dams and reservoirs in Nan, Phayao, Chiang Rai and Phrae to survey the damage. The team has found no damage so far,” RID director-general Praphis Chanma said. “As per standards, these dams and reservoirs can withstand more than 0.2 unit of g-force [gravitational force equivalent]. The highest g-force caused by the quake on Monday was registered at only 0.002866 unit.”
So far, 12 dams and reservoirs have been surveyed – four in Nan, four in Phayao, three in Chiang Rai and one in Phrae.
“We will continue surveying dams and reservoirs in other provinces around the quake’s epicentre and will provide an update,” he said. “All dams and reservoirs in Thailand have been designed to withstand tremors from earthquakes of the highest magnitude recorded in Thailand. People living around the dams and reservoirs can rest assured that they will be safe in the event of an earthquake.”