Bangkok, Thailand – In the teeming metropolis that is central Bangkok, Methinee Phoovatis monitored a small computer screen, hoping to find signs of survivors.Surrounding Methinee, other members of Thailand’s Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) coordinated the dozens of rescue workers shuttling along a path that led to an enormous mound of debris.
The rescue teams worked in shifts, searching for any indications of life under the hill of cement and steel that loomed over them.
“We are just hoping for a miracle that some of the people are still alive,” Methinee, a plan and policy analyst in the DDPM, told Al Jazeera.
It was four days after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake jolted Bangkok on March 28, and as the hours and days passed, the chances of Methinee and her colleagues finding survivors were increasingly slim.
“We are trying our best for the people. Hopefully, they are still alive,” she said, standing next to a whiteboard showing the tally of 73 people that were still missing under the rubble of the unfinished 30-storey building, which was designed to house Thailand’s National Audit Office. Advertisement
The earthquake that rocked the Thai capital was particularly shallow, just 10km (6.2 miles) deep, which intensified the shock waves on the earth’s surface.
Though situated more than 1,200km (750 miles) from the epicentre in Myanmar where thousands died, the earthquake brought Bangkok to a standstill. Panicked residents of this city of more than 11 m …