Massive 7.7 Earthquake Strikes Thailand; Jewish Community Reported Safe
A massive 7.7 earthquake rocked Thailand and nearby Myanmar midday Friday local time. Shocking videos from Bangkok show a 33-story building under construction in the Thai capital buckle and collapse. Thai authorities say at least 10 people have died in Bangkok, and many are feared buried under the collapsed structure and two other construction sites.
Meanwhile, in Myanmar, the government reported that at least 144 people have been killed in the quake.
Reached before Shabbat in Bangkok, Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kantor, director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Thailand told Chabad.org that initially “people thought they were feeling ill when the shaking started. It took a minute before they realized that it was a massive earthquake.”
Kantor said the quake was felt throughout the country. Video from the dairy restaurant at the five-story Chabad of Bangkok—Beit Chabad Ohr Menachem—in central Bangkok shows diners enjoying their kosher meals before chandeliers begin swaying. A moment later diners and staff realize what is happening and head for the doors, emptying out of the shaking building within 30 seconds. The $7 million, 30,000-square-foot community center opened in June 2021, and also includes a meat restaurant, travelers lounge, children’s playground, ballroom and rooftop deck, all of which was likewise evacuated. There was no damage to the structure.
Kantor reported that the Jewish community and dozen Chabad emissary families serving the Jews of Thailand were safe and in good spirits.
“This has never happened here before, so it came as a shock,” he said. “Thank G‑d, so far everyone that we know here has been accounted for. The truth is that despite the tragedy, it is a miracle that this earthquake did not do more damage. The buildings that fell were under construction; I shudder to think what would have been had they been completed and occupied.”
Kantor and his wife, Nechama Dina, were sent to establish Chabad of Thailand in 1993 by the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory. In addition to the local Jewish community, Chabad of Thailand serves tens of thousands of Israeli backpackers and other travelers every year and has permanent centers in seven cities.
The earthquake came as Chabad gears up for Passover in Thailand, an especially busy time of year. Chabad is preparing to host more than 11,000 people for the Passover Seders across 13 locations, including Pai, Koh PhanGan, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui. Bangkok itself will have two concurrent Seders, one led in English and the second in Hebrew.
“We are about to enter the Jewish month of Nissan, the month of miracles,” Kantor said. “We pray for continued miracles here and around the world.”
