Home ›› 10 May 2023 ›› Editorial
A quake hit at 5:57am on 5th May 2023 and lasted for a few seconds. The epicentre of the earthquake was around 23km from the capital near Sreenagar in Munshiganj, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). No casualties or fire hazards were reported immediately. Earthquakes are more deadly than any other form of natural hazard.
The conscious classes in society with a scientific bent of mind believe that a massive earthquake is in the way of Bangladesh. This is where they stop thinking further; at least until another massive earthquake hits a territory in the Asian region.
Every time an earthquake strikes any place outside the country, the general people of Bangladesh begin reviewing the pros and cons of the possibility of such a calamity. Following the recent 7.8 magnitude temblor that jolted a large tract in Turkey and Syria, a seemingly fraught mood has started creeping into the psyche of many.
The rapid urbanization, development of critical engineering works. Industrialization of cities with modern types of buildings and the concentration of population living or settling in hazardous areas are matters of growing concern as they contribute to heavier loss of life and increase considerably the costs of disaster damage.
The city planners of Dhaka haven’t failed to emphasize the drawbacks of the country’s capital. The first of those comes in the form of poor planning of the city. It is being made worse by overpopulation, unplanned constructions and poor road network. In an overpopulated city with narrow neighborhood roads and alleyways, conducting rescue operations may turn out to be a massive challenge. Bangladesh’s fear arises from a number of factors. Two of them are its high density of population, and the lack of logistics needed for rescue operations.
It is true that building codes and landform are not followed during the construction of most of the structures in Dhaka and that why an earthquake of less magnitude than the one hitting Turkey may cause more damage in Dhaka. Many buildings may collapse in Dhaka once an intermediate to strong earthquake hit Sylhet and the Chittagong Hill Tracts, and the Rana Plaza tragedy is the proof that building can collapse without a tremor. Following the Rana Plaza building collapse, experts from the BUET proposed to the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) to prepare a list of buildings based of their resilient capacity during an earthquake.
A study conducted by a group of teachers from Dhaka University, Columbia University, USA revealed this information that thirteen areas of Bangladesh are at risk of earthquake because of tectonic faults with the three districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Jaintiapur upazila of Sylhet district at the most risk.
These earthquake-prone areas are located 100km away from Dhaka, but an earthquake of magnitude 7-8 on the Richter scale may result in a large-scale disaster in the capital. A powerful earthquake occurred in Nepal on 25th April 2015 where the highest measure of the tremor was 7.9 on the Richter scale with a minimum of 6.6.
According to seismologists from Bangladesh, a huge jolt is likely to be felt in Dhaka city by an earthquake of magnitude 7-8 from a distance of 100-200 kilometres and that may damage weak buildings in the city.
Soil is soft and weak in the expanded or new residential areas of Dhaka. So, multi-stories buildings constructed on such soil violating building codes are likely to collapse in the impact of an intermediate earthquake while earthquake pose relatively less risk to one to three-storied buildings constructed on red soil. Besides, collapse of buildings is responsible for 90 per cent of deaths during an earthquake.
One of the most frightening and destructive phenomena of nature is a severe earthquake and its terrible aftereffects. If the earthquake occurs in a populated area, it may cause many deaths and injuries and extensive property damage.
Record shows that Madhupur gar and haor of Sylhet were the creation of earthquake in 1762. Tista River changed its course as a result of an earthquake of 1787. About 40,000 sq. miles of Khasia hill areas were destroyed by the earthquake of 1891 and the course of Brahmaputra was also changed.
An examination of the historical catalogue of Bangladesh and its surrounding region reveals that a number of earthquake of large magnitude with epicenters within this region occurred in the past. The 1897 Great earthquake in the world; it had its epicenter only 230 km from Dhaka. While the earthquake affected almost whole of Bangladesh, damages were very severe particularly in Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymensingh. In the city of Dhaka most of the brick masonry buildings either collapsed or were severely damaged.
The frequent jolts and the damage have frightened the people across the country. There is a widespread allegation that building code has not been followed at all, even by developers of high-rise buildings, public and private. The fear of being hit has caught people residing in Dhaka city which is full of authorized and unauthorized high-rise buildings without any reference to the building code. Experts on earthquake generally feel that Bangladesh may have a big earthquake in the Chittagong area whose impact may be felt in Dhaka also in the form of collapse of a lot of multi-storied building or in some other forms. At present, Fire Service and Civil Defense do not have adequate equipment at their disposal to meet any risk/danger of earthquake.
In the immediate past some news items were published in the daily newspapers that the major portion of Bangladesh is situated in high-risk newspaper that the major portion of Bangladesh is situated in high risk earthquake zone. This is a serious threat to the life of the people of this country.
It is reported in different newspaper that in future there is possibility of occurrence of severe earthquake in Bangladesh. Till date, proper rescue arrangement is not available in our country. the Fire Service and Civil Defense do not have adequate rescue equipment at their disposal.
If and earthquake of higher magnitude occurs in our country, hundreds of thousands of people are likely to lose their life and equal number of people is likely to be maimed in the absence of adequate rescue equipment at the disposal of fire Service and Civil Defense.
The first duty of the state is to save the life of its citizens. Even after publication of distressing news items about the danger of impending severe earthquake, the concerned authority of the Government has not yet been properly equipped to face the danger.
The writer a Non-Government Adviser, Bangladesh Competition Commission. He can be contacted at mssiddiqui2035@gmail.com
