A 3.7 magnitude earthquake was reported in Kapong district of Thailand’s southern province of Phang-nga this afternoon (Monday), but there have been no reports of damage or casualties.
According to the Earthquake Watch Office of the Meteorological Department, the quake, caused by the movement of the Khlong Marui fault, occurred at 2.43pm at the depth of 4km in Tha Na sub-district.
It said that people in Kapong, Takua Pa and Mueang districts could feel the tremors.
Suwit Khosuwan, an expert on mineral resource management at the Department of Mineral Resources, told Thai PBS that the Khlong Marui fault straddles Ban Ta Khun and Phanom districts in Surat Thani province, Thap Put and Mueang districts of Phang-nga and into the Andaman Sea between Mueang district of Phuket and Ko Yao district of Phang-nga, over a total distance of about 148km.
He disclosed that a study in 2006 showed that the fault moved, causing an earthquake measured at 6.8 on the Richter scale, about 2,000 years ago.
On April 16th, 2012, the same fault moved again, resulting to a 4.3 magnitude earthquake in Si Sunthorn sub-district of Phuket, causing cracks in about 10 houses in Ban Kham village. On May 7th, 2015, a 4.5 magnitude quake was reported at a depth of 11 km in the southern section of Yao Yai Island, in the Ko Yao district of Phang-nga Province. The vibrations were felt in Phuket, Phang-nga and Krabi provinces.
