Bangladesh on brink of major earthquake, experts urge preparedness

The last major earthquake in Bangladesh was in 1930, 96 years ago. In the previous 65 years, there were 6 earthquakes that devastated the land. However, experts say that, although nothing can be said for sure, these plates, which have been in place for almost a century, can cause severe tremors at any time. In this situation, the main preparation will be to make all infrastructure, including houses, earthquake-resistant.
On November 21 last year, a major earthquake occurred in Narsingdi within the country. The magnitude of the tremor in this part of the Indo-Burma tectonic plate was 5.7. Several lives were lost in this natural disaster. And just three months later, after Friday prayers, another 5.4-magnitude earthquake shook the entire country. 10 earthquakes before the end of this month. On average, one every two days. Is such frequent tremors a sign of a major disaster?
In this regard, earthquake expert Professor Dr. Md. Jahangir Alam said, if there are repeated earthquakes, then we know that when the plate boundary is hit, energy is created there. If the energy accumulates and there is no more space, then it explodes, the energy comes out. In such a situation, if it tries to come out like this again and again, then it seems that there may be a major earthquake there. He also said, the building needs to be evaluated. Engineers should be taught that. And everyone needs to be motivated. The owners of houses and structures need to be motivated, otherwise they will not do it.
The last ‘Great Indian Earthquake’ on June 12, 1897 was more than magnitude 8. Research says that due to some major plate boundaries and fault lines within it and being very close to them, there can be an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more every 100 to 150 years. There is also a risk of an earthquake of magnitude 8 or more, which returns every 250 to 1,000 years.
Meanwhile, statistics say that there are 2.1 million houses in the capital Dhaka alone. Of which 30 percent are more than 6 stories high. Of these, 90 percent are not earthquake-resistant. And there are hundreds of vulnerable buildings and infrastructure across the country. Earthquake expert Dr. Mehdi Ahmed Ansari said, “We don’t have anything to worry or worry about new small earthquakes. But there is also something to worry about with the big earthquakes that have happened in the past.”