Rental Building Settles as Residents Flee Safety

At 11:00 a.m. on July 20, 2026, officials at the Nai Khlong Bang Plakod Subdistrict Administration Organization in Samut Prakan received reports of a two-story rental building experiencing structural settlement and potential collapse. Residents living in the 24-room building, which sits in Soi Yai Pae village, successfully evacuated themselves to safety without injury.

When officials arrived to inspect the 10-by-20-meter elevated structure, they found severe cracks in concrete beams, columns, and stairways, with chunks of concrete littering the ground. Beneath the building's foundation, the concrete had fractured badly enough to expose rusted steel reinforcement. The support columns had tilted and cracked. Disaster prevention officers sealed the site with crime-scene tape and engineers issued a complete ban on building entry due to imminent collapse risk.

A tenant named Sophea, 41, discovered the damage while preparing food in her ground-floor room. Hearing the sound of cracking concrete, she quickly evacuated her bedridden mother using a wheelchair, carried her grandchild, and then went door-to-door alerting other residents. About 6 to 7 people occupying 3 or 4 rooms escaped safely, with everyone prioritizing their lives over possessions. The building, over 25 years old, had belonged to the tenant's late husband and served as income for her family.

The building owner, Nittaya, 56, explained that the structure was built more than 25 years ago and had deteriorated with age. Engineer Kritsada Magket, director of the subdistrict public works office, banned all access and use of the building pending further structural assessment. Officials said residents may be allowed to retrieve personal belongings once movement stabilizes, but only one or two people at a time.