The northern Thailand earthquake, the first of 2014 in the region, caused widespread damage and has led to seven districts in Chiang Rai province being declared
official disaster areas. As of Tuesday evening in Thailand — early
Tuesday morning in the United States — the injury count stood at 32,
with just one fatality.
That single death occurred near the epicenter of the 6.3 magnitude
earthquake in the northern Thailand, when an 83-year-old woman was
crushed under a collapsing wall in her home there.
The earthquake struck Thailand at about 6pm local time
Monday evening — about 7 am U.S. Eastern Time. The disaster area
declaration covers the districts of Phan, Mae Lao, Mae Suai, Wiang Chai,
Muang Chiang Rai, Pa Daet and Phaya Mengrai, all near the Thailand
border with Myanmar and Laos.
Property damage from the May 6, 2014, quake appears extensive.
Reports from Tuesday afternoon estimated that 3,500 homes were damaged
or destroyed, along with three school facilities and three hospitals.
The number of Thailand historic temples to suffer 2014 earthquake damage
was10 at last report.
The most famous of those temples, the elaborate Wat Rong Khun, known
to tourists as the “White Temple,” was built relatively recently in
1997. Yet the temple suffered severe damage, including the loss of its
steeple, which toppled to the ground. The roof of the temple and much of
the interior artwork was also damaged.
In the Mae Lao and Mae Suai regions, hundreds of people abandoned
their homes out of fear that they would collapse. As of Tuesday, most of
those residents has set up tents outdoors, in rural field areas away
from buildings that could still fall.
Aftershocks continued to send fear throughout the northern Thailand region well into Tuesday, according to authorities there.
“Since last evening (Monday) there were six large aftershocks with a
magnitude between 5.0 to 5.9 and the last was this morning,” Thailand
Meteorological Department spokesperson Burin Wechbunthung said. He said
that at least a dozen smaller tremors had hit the area.
While the 2014 Thailand earthquake is the first major quake in the
country for years, the region has seen other recent seismic events. The
largest took place in 2011 in Myanmar state of Chan, near the Thailand
border. With a magnitude of 6.8, that quake killed dozens and destroyed
homes and buildings throughout the area.
The 2014 Thailand earthquake was among the strongest ever recorded in the country.
Kevin Durant won his first NBA MVP Award in a landslide Tuesday,
garnering 113 more first-place votes than LeBron James, who finished
a distant second.
