Vulnerable country
Photo: Munir uz Zaman / Driknews
Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to earthquakes, because it is close to the meeting point of the Indian, Eurasian and Burma (Myanmar) plates. The observatory at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) recorded 86 tremors of over four magnitude during January 2006-May 2009. The meteorological department detected at least 90 earthquakes taking place in the country between May 2007 and July 2008, nine of them above five on the Richter Scale and epicentres of 95 percent being within a 600 km radius of Dhaka city. Experts say it is these minor tremors that indicate the possibility of much more powerful earthquakes hitting the country. The government needs to formulate effective plans and programmes for disaster preparedness in the event of an earthquake. To make a start in formulating effective plans for earthquake preparedness and damage control, building designs, particularly that of high-rise buildings, must be earthquake-proof. The Building Code must be revised to ensure adequate protective measures for the builders of faulty buildings that can be severely damaged by earthquakes. Also highways and bridges must be adequately reinforced. Warnings of earthquakes need sophisticated equipment which have to be procured and installed in meteorological stations. To ensure adequate damage control, we need to learn from the experience of the countries prone to regular earthquake, such as Japan and Indonesia.
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