Heavy quake in city can render 0.9m people homeless: Speakers
Sunday, 10 April 2011
FE Report
Speakers at a technical meeting said Saturday if an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 on the richter scale occurred at Modupur in Tangail then its effect will bring extensive damages to the lives and properties in the capital. Their observation came at the annual technical meeting on "Earthquake Risk Management and Way Forward" at the seminar hall of the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) in the capital. Bangladesh Earthquake Society arranged the programme with its president Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury in the chair. Food and Disaster Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque was present as the chief guest. Urban Risk Reduction Specialist of Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) of UNDP Dr Maksud Kamal presented a key note paper on "Contingency Plans for Earthquake Risk Management and Way Forward". Classified Specialist in surgery of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Lt Col Shams-ud- Din Elias Khan and Director of Operation and Plan, Armed Forces Division Brig Gen Mohammad Quamruzzaman psc jointly presented another key note paper on "Overseas Experiences in Humanitarian Assistance- Case of Haiti". The participants said if an earthquake hit the capital then about 0.9 million people will be rendered homeless, there will be extensive losses of lives and damages of infrastructures will cause the utility services to collapse. Mentioning Bangladesh as particularly susceptible to natural hazards, the disaster management minister said the country had experienced more than 100 seismic disturbances in the last two years. He has said the government have drafted the scenario-based contingency plans for national level. " We have procured search and rescue equipment equivalent to taka 590 million and handed over to Fire Service and Civil Defences (FSCD) and Armed Forces Division (AFD)," the minister said adding , " Government is processing more procurement of search and rescue equipments worth of Tk 1.6 billion". Dr Razzaque called upon all to follow the building code so that damages of earthquake can be checked.
Speakers at a technical meeting said Saturday if an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 on the richter scale occurred at Modupur in Tangail then its effect will bring extensive damages to the lives and properties in the capital. Their observation came at the annual technical meeting on "Earthquake Risk Management and Way Forward" at the seminar hall of the Institute of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) in the capital. Bangladesh Earthquake Society arranged the programme with its president Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury in the chair. Food and Disaster Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque was present as the chief guest. Urban Risk Reduction Specialist of Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) of UNDP Dr Maksud Kamal presented a key note paper on "Contingency Plans for Earthquake Risk Management and Way Forward". Classified Specialist in surgery of Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Lt Col Shams-ud- Din Elias Khan and Director of Operation and Plan, Armed Forces Division Brig Gen Mohammad Quamruzzaman psc jointly presented another key note paper on "Overseas Experiences in Humanitarian Assistance- Case of Haiti". The participants said if an earthquake hit the capital then about 0.9 million people will be rendered homeless, there will be extensive losses of lives and damages of infrastructures will cause the utility services to collapse. Mentioning Bangladesh as particularly susceptible to natural hazards, the disaster management minister said the country had experienced more than 100 seismic disturbances in the last two years. He has said the government have drafted the scenario-based contingency plans for national level. " We have procured search and rescue equipment equivalent to taka 590 million and handed over to Fire Service and Civil Defences (FSCD) and Armed Forces Division (AFD)," the minister said adding , " Government is processing more procurement of search and rescue equipments worth of Tk 1.6 billion". Dr Razzaque called upon all to follow the building code so that damages of earthquake can be checked.