Bangkok slightly shaken by earthquake off southern coast of Myanmar

Several high-rise buildings in Bangkok experienced vibrations this morning, caused by an earthquake in the Andaman Sea off the southern coast of Myanmar, forcing office workers in some buildings to evacuate for safety.

An evacuation was ordered at the Labour Ministry in Din Daeng district. Officials were seen running out of the building and gathering on the road, before reentering the building shortly afterward.

The Earthquake Monitoring Division of the Meteorological Department reported that an earthquake, measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, occurred about 10km under the sea floor off the southern coast of Myanmar, about 211km southwest of Mae Sot district of Thailand’s Tak province at about 9.58am.

The tremor sent out shockwaves, lasting about 10 seconds, which were mostly felt by people in high-rise buildings across Bangkok.

Some people in Phaya Thai district, for example, said they saw electric light fittings on the ceilings of their buildings swinging and water in glasses rippling. Some others said they felt nauseous as the building floor was shook slightly.

There are, however, no reports yet of injuries or property damage.

On March 28, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, causing widespread destruction and major loss of life.

Strong shockwaves from the quake reached Bangkok and some northern provinces, causing the collapse of the State Audit Office building, which was under construction, burying about 90 construction workers.