The Aftermath

Since the earthquake, Pinky and I have been living at her grandma's house here in Bangkok. We are so fortunate that we have a place to stay, as many displaced Thais and foreigners who lived in high-rise condos have been having to sleep in the city's parks until their buildings have been inspected and certified safe.

Yesterday, we were allowed to go back to our condo for a few hours in order to clean up a bit and collect all of our important documents and belongings.

It seems like our building is going to be ok! It's passed the first preliminary inspection, and we are just waiting for the architectural engineer to tell us that it's safe to move in. Since our condo is brand-new, it's up to the government's standards. There's quite a bit of damage, but all of it seems to be superficial.

Tall high-rises like ours are required by the Thai government to be built to withstand at least a 7.0 earthquake. Despite the certifications, it was really disconcerting for me to go up in the elevator the other day, seeing the cracks in the walls of the hallways as I rose upward.

As I was fleeing the building the other day, I heard cracking, which at the time I feared was structural damage. It turns out that most of the cracking was just plaster and was superficial. It should be a really easy fix, although witnessing it is certainly disconcerting.

Our condo is ok. There are several instances of superficial damage. The backsplash that we installed behind the kitchen needs to be replaced, as do the tiles in the shower. Several walls have been cracked and will need to be patched up. The flooring is a tiny bit warped and uneven, but it should be an easy enough repair.

Overall, we got really lucky. I can't imagine how bad things could have been.

More updates to follow.