Three Mild Earthquakes Hit Chiang Rai, northernmost Thailand

CHIANG RAI, June 29 (TNA) - Three mild earthquakes shook Thailand’s northernmost province of Chiang Rai before dawn Sunday but no casualties were reported, said the Meteorological Department’s Seismological Bureau. The Bureau said the mild quakes hit the province again after it encountered the quake of 6.3 magnitude on May 5, considered one of the strongest tremors that have ever hit the kingdom. According to the Bureau, the first Sunday’s quake measuring at 1.6 Richter hit Chiang Rai’s Phan district at 1.40 a.m. local time and the second one with 2.8 magnitude took place at 2.03 a.m. with epicenter in Mae Suai district. The third quake occurred at 5.20 a.m. again in Phan district with the Richter scale at 2.3 and was five kilometres underneath, it said. Experts warned that although the massive quake in the province took place almost two months now, a series of aftershock erupted late last week due to cracks in nearby areas. They warned that cracks in Mae Chan district could cause a quake measuring as much as 6 magnitude again in future. Meanwhile, relieve officials in Chiang Rai gave away money to the May 5 quake victims in order to boost their morale and to enable them to repair their homes which were damaged. However, many villagers in Phan district said they had received only a meagre financial assistance from the government and it was not enough to repair their homes. Many homes in the village are left unrepaired to date. (TNA)