MAE SAI—Residents of the border towns of Mae Sai, Thailand and Tachilek, Burma are still feeling the psychological effects of the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck the area at 9 pm on Thursday and reportedly killed at least 74 people in Burma and one in Thailand.
“I was driving when the quake struck,” said a young Thai man in Mae Sai. “The ground shook like waves. My car was like a boat hit by the waves.”
Wasana, a Thai girl working at a 7-Eleven in Mae Sai, told The Irrawaddy that many custumers were in the store when the earthquake began. The building suddenly started shaking, she said, and everyone ran out onto the street while bottles of whiskey fell from the shelves and broke.
Inside a tea shop, where a group of locals sat and talked about the eathquake in its aftermath, a Dutch man known as Khun Hom said, “I went to sleep early, but my bed was suddenly shaking and moving around. I realized it was an earthquake, and I quickly came downstairs.”
“When the quake struck, all of the people staying in high building and hotels came down and gathered on the street. We fear more, as we knew the example of the tsunami that hit Japan recently,” said a hotel owner.
No buildings in Tachilek collapsed due to the quake, but some structures suffered cracks. One woman was killed in Mae Sai when a wall fell on her, according to Thai TV report, but damage was otherwise minimal.
Fearing aftershocks and the collapse of weakened buildings, dozens of people in Mai Sai and Tachilek camped out on the street in groups on Thursday evening. Some told The Irrawaddy that they couldn’t sleep due to fear.
Kae, the owner of a gold shop in Mae Sai, sat on her Toyota truck while her children slept on the street just beside the vehicle.
“Some people couldn't even run. They slipped and fell down when they were trying to run onto street,” she said. “Now I can’t help myself to sleep. The fear keeps my eyes open. I asked my children to go and sleep inside the house, but they refused.”
A motorbike taxi driver in Tachileik said, “I have never seen an earthquake before. When the quake struck, I got down on the ground and held a pole. I saw the trees and buildings shaking. My family and many others are now sleeping on the ground at the heart of the city.”
Local people said there was no warning before the earthquake struck. Afterward, however, local authorities in Mae Sai and Tachileik made announcements over loudspeakers warning local residents not to stay at home or inside buildings.
“There were minor earthquakes here before, but they were not big like this time,” a noodle shop owner said. “This time, I was very afraid.”
At 7:15 a.m on Friday, The Irrawaddy reporters felt another earthquake in Mae Sai. Sitting in a coffee shop, they felt the ground shake and moved out onto the street, where residents had gathered in continued fear that another big quake could hit at anytime.
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21009
“I was driving when the quake struck,” said a young Thai man in Mae Sai. “The ground shook like waves. My car was like a boat hit by the waves.”
Wasana, a Thai girl working at a 7-Eleven in Mae Sai, told The Irrawaddy that many custumers were in the store when the earthquake began. The building suddenly started shaking, she said, and everyone ran out onto the street while bottles of whiskey fell from the shelves and broke.
Inside a tea shop, where a group of locals sat and talked about the eathquake in its aftermath, a Dutch man known as Khun Hom said, “I went to sleep early, but my bed was suddenly shaking and moving around. I realized it was an earthquake, and I quickly came downstairs.”
“When the quake struck, all of the people staying in high building and hotels came down and gathered on the street. We fear more, as we knew the example of the tsunami that hit Japan recently,” said a hotel owner.
No buildings in Tachilek collapsed due to the quake, but some structures suffered cracks. One woman was killed in Mae Sai when a wall fell on her, according to Thai TV report, but damage was otherwise minimal.
Fearing aftershocks and the collapse of weakened buildings, dozens of people in Mai Sai and Tachilek camped out on the street in groups on Thursday evening. Some told The Irrawaddy that they couldn’t sleep due to fear.
Kae, the owner of a gold shop in Mae Sai, sat on her Toyota truck while her children slept on the street just beside the vehicle.
“Some people couldn't even run. They slipped and fell down when they were trying to run onto street,” she said. “Now I can’t help myself to sleep. The fear keeps my eyes open. I asked my children to go and sleep inside the house, but they refused.”
A motorbike taxi driver in Tachileik said, “I have never seen an earthquake before. When the quake struck, I got down on the ground and held a pole. I saw the trees and buildings shaking. My family and many others are now sleeping on the ground at the heart of the city.”
Local people said there was no warning before the earthquake struck. Afterward, however, local authorities in Mae Sai and Tachileik made announcements over loudspeakers warning local residents not to stay at home or inside buildings.
“There were minor earthquakes here before, but they were not big like this time,” a noodle shop owner said. “This time, I was very afraid.”
At 7:15 a.m on Friday, The Irrawaddy reporters felt another earthquake in Mae Sai. Sitting in a coffee shop, they felt the ground shake and moved out onto the street, where residents had gathered in continued fear that another big quake could hit at anytime.
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21009
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