MANY PARTS of Thailand, including major cities, are at risk of earthquakes, experts said yesterday.

Asst Prof Dr Passakorn Pananont of Kasetsart University told a seminar that faultlines in Thailand’s West and North could cause quakes measuring more than 6 in magnitude.

“As for big cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai, it is unclear as to whether they are really beyond active fault zones. We need detailed studies to find the answer,” he said.

Passakorn was speaking at a seminar on the impact earthquakes could have on Thailand’s high-rise buildings and historical sites.

On Wednesday, a powerful earthquake hit central Myanmar killing three people and damaging more than 187 historical sites including ancient pagodas. Tremors were also felt in Bangkok, as reported by people living or working in skyscrapers.

“The tremor was stronger than the earthquake that hit Chiang Rai two years ago,” Dr Teraphan Ornthammarath of Mahidol University told the seminar.

Dr Nakhorn Poovarodom, who teaches at Thammasat University, said people in high-rise buildings in Bangkok and Chiang Mai felt the quake because the buildings were built on soft-clay zones.

“Researchers will have to consider this fact when setting proper quake-proof standards,” he said.

Nakhorn said apart from earthquakes, storms could also cause damage to historical sites. For instance, the That Phanom Pagoda sustained damage from a day-long storm in 1975.

Funded by the Thailand Research Fund, researchers are now studying how historical sites can be conserved based on engineering principles.

Meanwhile, Assoc Prof Dr Sampan Singharajwarapan, who heads Chiang Mai University’s Earthquake Hazard Research Centre, said Thailand would have to closely monitor three faults – Mae Chan, Mae Lao and Phayao – in the North.

“In the West, it has to watch over the Si Sawat fault,” he said.

Sampan recommended that all high-rise buildings be equipped with earthquake-proof measures to minimise losses.

Thailand will send officials and experts to Myanmar to help it survey the damages the recent earthquake caused to historical sites.

“We have already drawn up a plan to deliver help under our cultural-cooperation framework,” Culture Ministry permanent secretary Vira Rojpojchanarat said yesterday.

Separately, several roads in Bangkok and Samut Prakan were flooded yesterday after a cloudburst hit the capital on Wednesday night. The flooding prompted several schools to close for the day.