No earthquake response preparation in sight: Professor Humayun

The fact that Dhaka city and most parts of Bangladesh are at risk of an earthquake, needs no further explanation.

In recent years, the number of small and medium-sized earthquakes inside the country and at its outskirts has increased. But the preparation to combat the threat seems minimal in comparison.

It goes without saying that most buildings in the capital haven’t been constructed to withstand earthquakes. Which means a medium-sized earthquake can bring about massive destruction. We have spoken many times about this threat. After the earthquakes in Nepal and Turkey, we have taken earthquake response in Bangladesh seriously. But most of the decisions and initiatives taken to tackle the threat have remained on paper. In reality, they are not getting much importance.

To tackle a calamity like an earthquake, things like purchasing rescue equipment and training rescuers is important. Alongside that, we have to inform the people how they can save themselves when an earthquake strikes. For that, we need to regularly hold drills in Dhaka and other big cities of the country. I often see fire service and other rescue services hold drills. Every now and then drills are held in some government offices. But it is the general people who need such drills the most. If we don’t start area-wise drills for them, a big disaster will be waiting for us similar to what we saw during the rescue operation after the Rana Plaza collapse.

Another important thing is, we don’t take soil quality into account in the building construction process in cities. Large parts of Dhaka’s residential areas have been built on soft soil and on water bodies which have been filled with soil. Just approving building design is not enough. The earthquake resistance of the soil on top of which the building is being erected also needs to be investigated.

In our country, we have volunteer groups under the cyclone response programme, who are trained to run rescue operation when a cyclone hits the country. They are selected out of the general people. The government arranges their training. Similar training was once given to volunteers in the city. But most of those volunteers are now much older. So, we have to get the youth of now involved with the programme. We have to train them and prepare them.

Professor Syed Humayun Akhtar, earthquake expert, vice chancellor, Bangladesh Open University