On 27 June 2025, the Council of Engineers Thailand hosted the 2nd ACPE Forum 2025, themed “Disaster Insights: Lessons Learned from Recent Earthquake Impacts on Engineering Works in ASEAN.” This landmark event brought together leading experts and regional stakeholders to share cutting-edge retrofit strategies and data-driven recovery models. From real-world earthquake cases to policy reforms and regional collaboration, the forum unlocked practical strategies to make ASEAN’s built environment more resilient, safe, and future-ready.
Here are the forum’s top takeaways for resilient design and response:
🔹 Speaker: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tavida Kamolvej, Deputy Governor of Bangkok
Topic: Best Practice: Effective Disaster Management in the Recent Earthquake in Thailand
🗣 “Disaster management is not linear — response and recovery must happen together.”
🗣 “Engineers were vital from day one — in assessment, rescue, and public reassurance.”
1. Public Response
- Many people evacuated even without visible damage because they didn’t trust building safety.
- Clear, timely updates about risks and safety are more important than a building’s age or code rating.
2. BMA Operations
- Emergency Operations Center (EOC): Activated immediately after the quake to share verified information on social media, reducing rumors and panic.
- “Traffy Fondue” App: Added a feature for citizens to report cracks; volunteer engineers then checked these reports on site.
3. Search & Rescue
- The area was split into zones; vibration sensors and CCTV were set up.
- Drones and structural models, with help from local and international engineers, sped up damage mapping and rescue work.
4. Policy Recommendations
- Seismic Monitoring: Put vibration sensors in hospitals and high-rise buildings to protect patients and calm staff.
- Cross-disciplinary teams: Let engineering experts lead technical work, supported by administrative bodies—this works better than working in silos.
🔹 Speaker: Dr. Anek Siripanichgorn
🗣 “The collapse teaches us not only engineering lessons but reminds us to re-evaluate our codes, enforcement, and digital monitoring to build safer cities.”
1. Soft‐Soil Amplification Effects
- Bangkok’s soft‐soil layers transform distant seismic waves into long‐period ground motions, imposing severe shaking on tall buildings.
2. Failure Mechanisms in the Audit Office Building (SAO)
- Core‐Wall Modifications: Thinning and mid-height segmentation of shear walls broke their continuity, undermining strength and ductility against quakes.
- Mass-Stiffness Imbalance: Misaligned centers of mass and stiffness reduced shear capacity, triggering collapse at the 4th floor and a progressive “pancake” failure.
3. Forensic Investigation Approach
- Synchronized multi-angle video recordings to chronicle collapse progression.
- Structural simulations by university teams validated initiation points and failure modes.
4. Recommended Improvements
- Ban any reduction in core‐wall thickness or alteration of critical detailing.
- Mandate continuous structural-health monitoring in all high-rise buildings to detect threshold exceedances in real time.
5. Lessons for Future Practice
- Core Walls’ Vital Role: Maintaining full thickness and connectivity is essential to prevent collapse.
- Addressing Long-Period Motions: Explicitly incorporate their effects into seismic codes and design criteria.
- Harnessing Citizen Footage: Public-captured videos, when synchronized, provide precise forensic insights into damage timing and location.
🔹 Panelist: Prof. I Wayan Sengara
🗣 “A handful of school retrofits today means thousands of kids sleep safely tomorrow.”
How Building Rules Are Enforced
- Local expert panels check and approve building designs before permits are granted.
- Every step—applying for permits, supervising construction, and final inspections—follows strict legal rules.
“Safe Schools” Pilot Project
- Working with UNESCO, UNICEF, and local universities to assess and strengthen at-risk school buildings.
- Uses local materials and methods to cut costs and involve the community.
ASEAN-Level Cooperation
- Share long-period ground motion data and update design rules for each country’s soil conditions.
- Build a regional network of sensors, Digital Twins, and AI to predict damage before it happens.
- Align building standards and damage checks so ASEAN engineers can quickly help each other during emergencies.
🔹 Panelist: Prof. Ir. Iswandi Imran
🗣 “With every new fault line we map, it’s health-check time for our aging buildings.”
What We Learned:
- Older buildings were built to old rules, so they shake more in earthquakes.
- We must check every existing building for safety—and fix (retrofit) any that don’t pass.
What ASEAN Countries Should Do:
- Update Hazard Maps: Whenever we find new faults, redraw our earthquake-risk maps and see how old buildings are affected.
- Smart Retrofit Design: Use methods that show exactly how a building will perform, so we spend money wisely when strengthening it.
- Add Seismic Dampers: Put quake-control devices (like dampers or base isolators) on bridges and other critical structures to absorb shaking before it causes damage.
🔹 Panelist: Dr. Soe Myint
🗣 “Nailing the basics—correct bar spacing and solid confinement—keeps buildings standing when the earth shakes.”
Main Causes of Damage in Mandalay:
- Cracked Columns: Columns lacked enough ties, so they broke suddenly under shear forces.
- Soft Ground Floor: Big open spaces (like parking) made the first floor too stiffened.
- Weak Columns, Strong Beams: Stiff beams pushed loads onto weaker columns, causing columns to fail.
- Frame Twisting: No enough stiffeners to strengthening members allowed steel frames to warp when shaken.
Top Recommendations for Government & ASEAN:
- Earthquake-Ready Training: All contractors and foreign workers must take a course on quake-safe construction practices especially in detailing before starting work.
- Strict Inspections: Set up permit, inspection and testing checks at every stage—from site prep through final finishes.
- ASEAN Occupational skill standard: Create one regional standard so engineers, foremen and workers can work across borders and lift safety standards together.
🔹 Panelist: Mr. Niwat Thanpitinan
🗣 “Decide how much damage you can live with—and then build just to that, not beyond your budget.”
Key Takeaways:
- Earthquake safety is about smart, cost-effective design—not overbuilding.
- Start by setting a clear “acceptable damage” level.
- Design exactly to that level to avoid wasted expense.
- Do quick simulations (e.g., before pouring concrete) to catch issues early.
- Good judgment and balance beat aiming for perfection.
💬 Key Q&A Highlights from the Forum
Q: What lessons should we learn from the recent building collapse in Bangkok?
• Thailand’s design standards are solid, but Bangkok’s peak ground acceleration (PGA) should be updated to ~0.20–0.30 g.
• The seismic-hazard map needs modernization.
• On-site supervision during construction must be strengthened.
Response: Dr. Soe Myint
Q: If we raise those standards, how much more would it cost?
• Apply the “How good is good enough” principle—define acceptable damage rather than aiming for zero.
• Small increases in design forces and tighter inspections can improve safety without a full overhaul.
Response: Dr. Soe Myint
Q: How has Indonesia improved its seismic-design standards?
• Since the 2004 Aceh earthquake, the national seismic-hazard map has been reviewed every seven years.
• Each update introduces new laws and stricter design requirements.
Response: Prof. Iswandi Imran & Dr. Wayan Sengara
Q: Which welding standards work best for earthquake resistance?
• Use AWS D1.1 with Appendix D1.8 to ensure weld flexibility under seismic loads.
Response: Dr. Soe Myint
Q: What thickness should a shear wall be?
• Typically 15–40 cm, depending on building height, seismic loads, and materials.
• Thickness must be verified through structural analysis according to international codes.
Response: Dr. Soe Myint
Q: What can we learn from the building collapse in Mandalay?
• Main causes: no on-site supervising engineer and use of substandard materials.
• Recommendations: inspect and retrofit older buildings, and train crews in proper techniques.
Response: Dr. Soe Myint
Q: What are the main reasons structures get damaged or collapse?
• Original design standards may not meet today’s seismic requirements.
• Common issues: poor detailing, insufficient inspections, lack of bracing, and low-quality materials.
• Actions: improve plan reviews, enforce site supervision, and use temporary bracing during construction.
Response: Prof. Iswandi Imran, Dr. Wayan Sengara & Dr. Soe Myint
