Experts repeat call for quake preparedness

Experts repeat call for quake preparedness

                                                                -  City Correspondent

     Experts predict the deaths of at least 96,000 people, injuries of 1,27,000 and the collapse of 28 percent of the existing buildings if a moderate earthquake hits the city. They told a workshop the direct loss would be worth a billion dollars in case of an earthquake of medium intensity.

    Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and Bangladesh Earthquake Society (BES) jointly organised the workshop on "Earthquake Preparedness and Management" last week to create awareness on earthquakes, sponsored jointly by Care Bangladesh and USAID.

    Speaking as the chief guest, President of BES Jamilur Reza Chowdhury said according to seismic zoning map of Bangladesh, Dhaka comes under the highly earthquake prone zone 2. He said the consequences of earthquakes would be disastrous, as Dhaka's population is at least 10 million.

     Mohammed Abu Sadeque, sub-divisional engineer of Public Works Department (PWD), clarified the reasons and effects of earthquake in his presentation. He quoted scientists anticipate a severe earthquake in Bangladesh.

  "The Indo-Australian Tectonic Plate on which Bangladesh is situated is moving northward. However, the movement had stopped for the last hundred years storing 'strain energy' under the outer shell of the earth. This will cause a big earthquake in Bangladesh at any moment," he said.

     Sadeque said there may be fissures on the ground and apart from complete damage, buildings may have settlements, tilts or cracks as effects of an earthquake. Fire is another problem that follows earthquakes.

  "Dhaka is more likely to have fire hazards during earthquakes as its gas supply is piped," he said. 'Liquefaction' was highlighted in Sadeque's presentation as a major factor left by earthquake where the soil becomes soft like quicksand and unable to hold any structure. However, Dr Mehdi Ahmed Ansary, secretary general of BES, said in presentation that a comparatively less chance of 'Liquefaction' exists in Dhaka. "Only 10 per cent of ground in Dhaka may suffer from it as underground water level is gradually decreasing," he said.

   The experts said proper earthquake proof construction is necessary for the safety of city dwellers. They said some construction firms try to convince people saying their buildings can bear an earthquake measured 7 or 8 on the Richter Scale.

Dr. Ansary added that an earthquake measuring 1 on Richter scale might get amplified into 2.5

because of the soil quality of a particular area.

      He also said lack of maintenance of old buildings is posing a threat to city dwellers. "I have seen some buildings in old town, built on narrow columns with no foundation," said Dr. Ansary. "Imagine the plight of 20 lakh residents, if an earthquake takes place," he said.

     Speakers said that in most cases an old building with no earthquake precaution could be made earthquake resistant by retrofitting. "It may cost 10 to 15 percent of the total construction cost of the building," said Abu Sadeque.

     Experts said 90 percent of the city dwellers would be safe if buildings were constructed to meet the earthquake consequences. They stressed for a disaster management system for the other 10 percent. They added there should be stringent laws compelling builders to follow the earthquake code.

      Syed Ashraful Alam, Md. Morshed and Mashiur R. Khandekar also made presentations. Tapan Kumar Das Gupta, DCC's chief town planner and Habibur Rahman, chief executive officer, also spoke.