(Bangkok Post file photo)The Engineering Institute of Thailand (EIT) says more than 20,000 buildings in Bangkok need to be checked for safety after the concrete awning of a building in Chatuchak district collapsed last week. Certain kinds of buildings, especially high-rise ones, must undergo checks by experts to have their licences approved every year. More than 20,000 buildings that have an area of at least 10,000 square metres need to be examined, Mr Anek said. It is one of 19 buildings owned by the Bangkok Market Office, which later told its tenants to vacate all buildings for their own safety. The old buildings mainly require examinations for deterioration of structures and reinforcing steel as well as cracks, he said, insisting old buildings are not always at risk of collapsing if people living there regularly check them and bring in experts to repair damaged parts.

Source: Bangkok Post September 14, 2016 00:33 UTC