Post-earthquake inspections confirmed that 34 buildings across Thailand were severely damaged and have since been declared off-limits.
A total of 3,375 buildings underwent checks by the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning (DPT) and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). Of these, 3,130 buildings were deemed safe, while 211 suffered moderate damage.
The inspections were conducted between March 28 and April 1, with buildings categorised into three groups.
The first group included government buildings, such as public hospitals, public schools and office buildings in Bangkok, inspected by the DPT, Council of Engineers, Engineering Institute of Thailand, Building Inspectors Association and volunteer engineers.
The second group consisted of private sector high-rise buildings, hotels, condos and shopping malls. All are subject to annual checks and were advised to conduct separate inspections after the earthquake with specialists they have previously engaged.
The third group included residential and commercial buildings, as well as general buildings in Bangkok, with the BMA responsible for confirming their safety.
In the quake-affected provinces, the DPT instructed provincial offices, engineers from local administrative organisations and volunteer engineers to conduct inspections. There are 2,600 licenced inspectors listed on its website, and the public is advised to consult them for checks.
Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered Bangkok authorities, under Section 32 of the 1979 Building Control Act, to instruct building owners to inspect their structures.
The BMA has informed 11,000 private building owners since Monday to conduct inspections and report back. So far, 112 buildings have done so.
The Traffy Fondue complaint system, operated by the BMA, reported on Tuesday that 15,514 complaints about building safety were made, with 13,612 resolved.
The DPT has launched a hotline for reporting building safety concerns, available 24 hours a day at 1531, 02-299-4191 and 02-299-4312.
