These villages, located in 308 districts across the country, are situated on Thailand's 13 fault lines. The most worrying faults are in Chiang Rai's Mae Chan district and Kanchanaburi's Si Sawat district, including the one near the Srinakharin Dam.
Detailed risk analysis has been done in 192 villages in Kanchanaburi, 174 in Chiang Mai, 134 in Chaing Rai, 83 in Phrae, 54 in Mae Hong Son, 127 in Tak, 68 in Nan, six in Kamphaeng Phet, 37 in Lampang, 56 in Lamphun, 62 in Uttaradit and 56 in Chumphon.
So far, villages in Chiang Rai situated on a major fault line, which was hit by a 6.5 Richterscale quake 2,000 years ago, have been put in the highrisk category, though not yet earmarked for immediate evacuation.
This region was hit by major quakes hundreds of years ago as lebeled the "Red Zone". Another red zone is the 155km stretch from Chiang Mai's Fang district, through Chiang Rai's
Mae Chan districts leading to Laos.
An official said the 3.7 Richterscale quake on June 13 had caused a 3.4metre dent in the Srinakharin Dam, though the main structure was still intact and could withstand a 7.0 Richterscale tremor.
Other highrisk areas are Kanchanaburi's Dan Chedi Sam Ong (Three Pagodas) district, which was hit by a 6.4 Richterscale quake around 1,000 years ago, and the Si Sawat district, which was hit by a 7.0 Richterscale quake 7,000 years ago.
An official said the 3.7 Richterscale quake on June 13 had caused a 3.4metre dent in the Srinakharin Dam, though the main structure was still intact and could withstand a 7.0 Richterscale tremor.
This is not a immediate situation but there are no real pre warnings for earth quakes. It is better to be safe than sorry. One should avoid spending your holidays in these areas. Azelia.
