Fearful workers fled buildings in Bangkok on Monday morning amid reports of vibrations and cracks being found in the buildings, but the scare was later dismissed as a false alarm.
City engineers said later the cracks were not new, they had formed during Friday's series of earthquakes centred in Myanmar and the buildings were safe.
The evacuations occurred about 10am. Affected premises inluded Building A of the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Rd, the Ministry of Labour in Din Daeng district and court buildings on Ratchadaphisek Road.
People were also cleared from the headquarters of Government Housing Bank in Huai Khwang district, the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek and the Social Security Office in Din Daeng.
The Revenue Department ordered staff at its headquarters in Phaya Thai district to work from home. Taksin Hospital in Klong San district and highrises on Silom Road and Vibhavadi Rangsit Road were also evacuated.
Deputy Interior Minister Sabeeda Thaised said later at the Government Complex that public works engineers checked the building structures there and judged them safe for workers.
There were 15 aftershocks in Myanmar on Monday morning but they were minor and had no impact on Thailand, she said.
Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt also said there were reports of cracks noticed and vibrations felt at about 20 buildings in the capital on Monday morning. However the cracks had happened on Friday.
People were still edgy after Friday’s earthquake damage and became frightened when they saw the old cracks.
