Thailand News Today | Earthquake in Chiang Mai Thailand!
4.2 magnitude earthquake shakes Chiang Mai
Residents of Chiang Mai province in northern Thailand were awoken at 4.26am today by a 4.2 magnitude earthquake. No injuries or deaths have been reported.
The tremor lasted about three seconds and no aftershocks have been felt so far.
Many felt strong shaking as the epicenter had a shallow depth of only two kilometers in the Mae subdistrict in the Doi Saket district.
People reported hearing a loud, thunderous sound.
In Chiang Mai province, the earthquake was felt in Doi Saket, Mueang Chiang Mai, San Kamphaeng, Mae Rim and San Sai districts.
Residents of Ban Thi district in Lamphun province and Dok Kham Tai district in Phayao province also felt shaking.
Reports say the earthquake was also felt across the border in Myanmar.
Chiang Mai governor Nirat Pongsitthaworn ordered authorities in all districts to investigate potential damage caused by the earthquake.
Netizens are sharing their clips of the earthquake, most of their confused pets, under the Twitter hashtag #แผนดินไหว (#earthquake)…
Engineers urgently working to restore power to Phuket International Airport
Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) engineers on Phuket are working hard to restore power to the island’s international airport,
after about 10 high-tension utility poles were felled last night by heavy rain.
This morning (Thursday), police closed the old road to the airport in Thalang District to all traffic and asked motorists to use an alternative route.
The utility poles fell across the road, making it impassable.
The collapse of the poles caused a power outage in the immediate area and PEA officials said they had to cut power supply to the airport as well,
while engineers work to re-erect the utility poles and restore the power supply. The work is expected to be completed this evening.
Meanwhile, a 200-metre stretch of the 4029 road, from Krathu to Pa Tong, has collapsed following a landslide yesterday,
rendering one lane of the two-lane road impassable, following heavy rainfall since Sunday.
Governor Narong Woonsiew said that the road is important, especially during the high tourist season, and must be repaired and reopened immediately.
Builders uncover corrupt Thai Army practices
Construction workers say they fear for their lives after stumbling over corrupt Royal Thai Army practices while building army premises.
The builders employed the help of a lawyer after they discovered shady dealings while working on army housing loan projects, reported Bangkok Post.
They are frightened they will be linked to these corrupt practices.
The builders lodged a complaint, via their lawyer, with the Ministry of Defence over alleged corruption within the department’s internal loan system,
which implicates at least 20 military officers.
The lawyer acting on behalf of the builders, Paisarn Ruangrit, believes the damage from the alleged graft is between 30 to 40 million baht.
He added a previous investigation discovered that the military officers involved in the reported corrupt practices have been promoted.
At least one senior army officer has swindled some of the loan money, by claiming the recipients had to pay a 5% welfare fee and a further unspecified amount called a “loose change” fee.
Paisarn revealed that the army confirmed these fees were illegal.
“The soldiers who obtained the loans were taken aback by the fee deductions.
They mistakenly thought the fees were collected by the builders who insisted they had nothing to do with the apparent malpractice.
“The builders learned about the alleged graft in the lending under the army’s welfare programme.
That knowledge may have put them in danger, so two of the builders went to the Justice Ministry to request protection.”
The lawyer revealed that the army’s housing loan scheme was abolished last year although the illegal fees were still being charged until recently.
“The fees, which were allegedly pocketed by some senior officers, amounted to millions of baht.
The army must offer compensation and provide a clear explanation as to how it intends to make the payouts to hundreds of loan recipients who were charged the illegal fees.”
The army has not provided any explanation about the compensation issue and so that is why the lawyer took up the issue with the Defence Ministry.
Residents shocked by fire on Pattaya soi Earthquake in Chiang Mai
Residents and tourists were shocked by a fire that broke out in Pattaya yesterday. The fire started after an excavator got tangled with cable wires on Soi Buakhao 15,
The Pattaya News reported.
A witness said the excavator had been working on a drainage project on the soi
when its arm got tangled in the wires above it. Firefighters managed to put out the fire, although five parked cars nearby were damaged.
There were also reportedly about 200 metres of burnt communication wires at the scene. Many businesses and homes also had no power as of press time.
Photos show a crowd of people watching the scene, and firefighters working to put out the blaze.
Luckily, no injuries have been reported.
This year, there have been a few fires in Thailand involving cable wires. One fire in Bangkok’s Chinatown killed two people back in June.
In the aftermath of the fire, Bangkok officials proposed at a meeting that telecom service providers should do their part in tidying up overhead cables around the city.
Yet another fire involving cables catching fire broke out the next month. The fire occurred at Soi Lad Phrao 111 in Khlong Chan subdistrict,
Bang Kapi district. No injuries were reported.
Hopefully, people whose properties were damaged in the recent Pattaya fire will be able to get help.
Ganja galore: Over 1,000 cannabis clinics have opened this year in Thailand Earthquake in Chiang Mai
It is ganja galore as Thailand has seen over 1,000 cannabis clinics open this year alone. According to The Bangkok Post,
the public health ministry noted that out of 1,026 clinics opened this year, 929 are run directly by the ministry.
But, to prevent unwanted consequences of the plant’s legalisation, the ministry says such clinics are also doubling as research units.
Such research has seen over 60 studies on the benefits of using cannabis to treat patients suffering from various health conditions,
including sleep disorders, chronic pain, and decreased appetite in end-stage cancer patients.
At least five cannabis-based treatments on the country’s essential drug list are using these studies as resources in their proposals.
And, since the start of this year, the ministry says the number of patients seeking cannabis-based treatments has increased by 142 per cent.
Moreover, the number of patients seeking such care exceeds 10,000 nationwide.
The cabinet has also recently approved the Public Health Ministry’s proposal to appoint one more deputy permanent secretary to monitor the implementation of the ministry’s core policies.
Of those policies, the legalisation of cannabis is included. The House panel chair also says that the stalled deliberation of the bill on cannabis and hemp control will resume in November.
The bill aimed at protecting the public from abusing cannabis, or ganja, as the locals call it. Earthquake in Chiang Mai
The government removed the plant from the banned narcotics list on June 6. Now, finding high-quality, imported buds of every strain of marijuana under the sun is becoming the norm.
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