Fearful workers fled buildings in Bangkok on Monday morning amid reports of vibrations and cracks being found in the buildings, but the scare was later dismissed as a false alarm.
City engineers said later the cracks were not new, they had formed during Friday's series of earthquakes centred in Myanmar and the buildings were safe.
The evacuations occurred about 10am. Affected premises included Building A of the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Rd, the Ministry of Labour in Din Daeng district and court buildings on Ratchadaphisek Road.
People were also cleared from the headquarters of Government Housing Bank in Huai Khwang district, the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek and the Social Security Office in Din Daeng.
The Revenue Department ordered staff at its headquarters in Phaya Thai district to work from home. Taksin Hospital in Klong San district and highrises on Silom Road and Vibhavadi Rangsit Road were also evacuated.
Deputy Interior Minister Sabeeda Thaised said later at the Government Complex that public works engineers checked the building structures there and judged them safe for workers.
There were 15 aftershocks in Myanmar on Monday morning but they were minor and had no impact on Thailand, she said. They included two of 3.7-magnitude, at 9.29am and 10.05am, according to the Meteorological Department.
Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra confirmed the department reported the aftershocks in Myanmar had no impact on Thailand. She said the cracks reported in the buildings in Bangkok were not new. They appeared during Friday’s earthquake.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt also allayed fears. He said there were reports of cracks noticed and vibrations felt at about 20 buildings in the capital on Monday morning. However the cracks had occurred on Friday.
People were still edgy after Friday’s earthquake damage and became frightened when they saw the old cracks.
“People went back into many buildings… the situation has returned to normal. People might be too worried,” the Bangkok governor said.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand said its building remained safe, trading continued as normal and there was no evacuation order.
The SET's PR staff said by phone that some staff left the building on Monday morning because nearby office workers evacuated their workplaces, but the SET management did not give any evacuation order.
Government Housing Bank said on Monday that people felt vibrations on the 17th floor of Building 2 at its headquarters compound at 10.38am and therefore, staff and clients were evacuated. Engineers then carried out safety checks and its headquarters had already resumed service.
