Dhaka at high risk of powerful tremor, say experts

As two consecutive tremors hit Nepal leaving over 3,700 people dead, earthquake experts in Dhaka apprehend that an unprecedented human disaster may occur in the city and elsewhere in Bangladesh in case of a heavy tremor as Bangladesh is situated in a high risk zone, reports UNB.
Bangladesh is located near the three active faults - Madhupur, Dawki and Himalayan faults. According to the experts, a powerful earthquake needs at least 100-150 years to be originated for a particular region and in that sense it is overdue for Bangladesh and parts of Assam, as 112 years have passed by since a heavy tremor from Dawki Fault hit the region.  So, Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to a powerful earthquake, they said.
Ruling out the possibility of a 7.8 magnitude tremor (one that hit in Nepal) in Bangladesh, earthquake expert Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury said a 7-magnitude earthquake may originate from Madhupur and Dawki faults.
He said if an 8-9 magnitude of earthquake originates from Dawki fault, Dhaka will face an 'intensity of VII' on the Richter scale that may destroy a huge number of buildings and leave nearly 0.1 million (1 lakh) people dead.
"The Madhupur fault located near Dhaka city is very active to generate a moderate to heavy earthquake. A big earthquake originated from the fault in 1885 (127 years ago). Now energy is being accumulated in this fault and small quakes are giving an indication of a bigger one," said seismic expert Prof Dr Syed Humayun Akhter.
The Dhaka city may face a devastating earthquake anytime due to shifting of the present plate boundary to the Jamuna-Meghna river basin from east and rapid accumulation of seismic energy beneath the city.
"With the passage of time, the present plate boundary is shifting from east to west (Jamuna-Meghna river basin), which put Dhaka at risk of tremor," he said.
Showing earthquake data, Prof Humayun said a 4.5 magnitude tremor originated from Madhupur fault beneath the Buriganga River on December 19 in 2001 while two more small quakes occurred from the fault in 2008 (epicentres - Manikganj and Mymensigh).
"That means Madhupur is an active fault. And when energy accumulation will reach a critical level, the energy will be released leading to a devastating quake from the fault that will critically affect Dhaka city," said Dr Humayun, a professor of the DU.