US Ambassador Dan W Mozena has stressed establishing a centralised command and control centre in Bangladesh with a view to carrying out rescue operation effectively following any earthquake to minimise the disaster aftermath. ‘…a centralised command and control centre – some kind of national disaster management centre – that will survive a calamitous earthquake and be available to support rapid and effective decision making,’ the US envoy said while addressing a programme in the city on Monday. Bangladesh Armed Forces Division and US Army Pacific jointly arranged the 4-day event – Fifth Bangladesh Disaster Response Exercise and Exchange 2014. Mozena urged the Bangladesh government to give urgent consideration to such a disaster management centre soonest. ‘I’m sure that America and Bangladesh’s many other international friends would be helpful in this endeavour,’ he said. Referring to the last year’s 9-storey garment factory building collapse at Savar, Mozena said ‘Rana Plaza’ was a taste of what would happen when Dhaka is hit by a major earthquake. ‘According to one estimate of Bangladesh government, if a quake of 7 magnitude on the Richter scale hits Dhaka, at least 70,000 of the city’s 350,000 buildings will collapse,’ he said, adding Bangladesh needs to address urgent questions such as whether these facilities would survive an earthquake, and, if not, how can they be retrofitted or replaced so they could survive a quake, according to a news agency.
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