In case an earthquake jolts us!
Saturday, 25 August 2007
Maswood Alam Khan
A two-minute long eight-magnitude earthquake hit on the 15th of this month the central coast of Peru killing more than 500 people, wounding more than 1000, collapsing homes, factories and offices, cracking and cutting off roadways and leaving thousands without shelter, power and water. People of the hardest-hit cities of Canete, Chincha and Pisco were sleeping outside under open sky out of fear as the areas had been hit by several strong aftershocks. Hundreds of prisoners escaped from a jail in Chincha when the tremor tore an old prison building apart. Some people, still alive, might have been trapped under collapsed buildings. People were hugging and crying in fear on the streets. Peruvian President Alan Garcia declared three days of national mourning.
Coincidentally, the following day -- August 16 -- two earthquakes, one of 3.3-magnitude and the other 4.1, shook Bangladesh too, though without causing any damage to life and property.
In Bangladesh 536 people died in the latest flooding in 18 days since July 30 and in Peru 510 people died in their latest earthquake.
The recent flood is nothing new in Bangladesh. We faced many disastrous floods in the past -- the last two in 1988 and 1998. Similarly, the earthquake on August 15 is not a new visitor in Peru. In 1970, an earthquake killed an estimated 50,000 Peruvians in catastrophic avalanches of ice and mud that buried the town of Yungay.
We, as sufferers of natural calamities, can very well empathise with fellow sufferers in Peru. We wish we could rush there to salvage some of those Peruvians who were reportedly trapped in the rubbles of collapsed buildings. Nevertheless, we pray to the Providence to help Peruvians face the ordeal. May God grant peace to the departed souls, and courage and strength to those who have been injured and who have lost their kith and kin!
Earthquake, compared to flood, is a brutal force of nature. Flood can be scientifically forecast and we get a bit of time to evacuate those in vulnerable locations; but earthquake grabs humans, animals and plants aback. Scientists are yet to come up with a proven methodology to forecast an earthquake the way other climatic catastrophes can precisely be predicted.
Scientists and astrologers alike, especially the Chinese and the Japanese who are perennial sufferers of earthquakes, have long been attempting a variety of methods to foretell an impending earthquake. They tried to associate earthquakes with phenomena like strange animal behaviour, alignment of the Sun and Moon, weather conditions, unusual clouds, hydrogen gas content in ground water, water levels in wells and fluctuations in electromagnetic fields etc. Relying on empirical knowledge and observation, some Chinese people successfully predicted the February 4, 1975 Haicheng Earthquake of 7.3 magnitude; but they unfortunately failed to predict July 28, 1976 Tangshan Earthquake of 7.8 magnitude. In folklores, some animals, especially dogs, cats, chickens, horses, elephants and even catfish, were rendered as capable of predicting earthquakes.
We, Bangladeshis, can recall natural calamities like floods, tidal bores, and tornadoes in living memory as those happened not long ago. Many of us may not be aware of the fact that, like the Peruvians, we also faced the specters of turbulent earthquakes that hit us not eons back!
In 1897 an earthquake of eight-magnitude on the Richter scale, known as Great Assam Earthquake, devastated almost entire Bangladesh. In 1885 Bengal Earthquake of magnitude 7, also known as Manikganj Earthquake for its epicenter in Saturia of Manikganj, affected Bogra, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Mymensingh and Dhaka regions that is recorded as one of the severe earthquakes striking the eastern region of the subcontinent. 1918 Earthquake, with its epicenter near Srimongol, also wreaked havocs on our country.
The first recorded earthquake in 1548 had shaken Sylhet and Chittagong violently though we do not have records of how many lives were taken by that tremor. Since 1548, our country has been trembled by 19 fierce earthquakes. The latest strong earthquake of 5.1 magnitude visited Barkul Upazilla, Rangamati in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in 2003. According to the geo-meteorological experts, the entire area of Bangladesh is more or less vulnerable to severe earthquakes.
The Earthquake Disaster Risk Index (EDRI) for Dhaka stands top among the twenty high-risk cities in the world! Roger Balham and Philip England, in their paper published in the "Nature" science magazine, wrote, "1897 Great Assam Earthquake constitutes a significant seismic threat to nearby densely populated regions of Bangladesh and to the capital city of Dhaka."
Thought of an earthquake measuring seven or more on the Richter scale shaking Dhaka city sends chills down our spines. Let alone seven, even a six-magnitude earthquake, I feel dead scared, may turn Dhaka metropolis the world's largest graveyard of mass burials. Except a few buildings and structures constructed under supervisions of overseas experts all buildings -- high-rise or low-lying, supported by RCC or mud-wall -- may be flattened in an apocalyptic pattern if an 1885 Bengal Earthquake-like tremor jolts Dhaka or Chittagong within 2015, the probable year when, according to return period character of 130 years, a large scale earthquake is due to hit Bangladesh.
We live in a country where illiterate masons are deemed civil engineers and landowners, who know nothing about structural designs, architects. It is again in our capital city where buildings collapse without tremors and people die more from stampedes than from accidents.
According to a field investigation, Dr. Aftab Alam Khan, Professor, Department of Geology of University of Dhaka wrote in his paper, an average fault displacement of 7.0 million occurred along several neo-faults aligned with Dhaleswari and Buriganga rivers. These active faults have potential for generating seismic energy of magnitude as high as 7.5. Moreover, as Dr. Khan opined, developers paying no heed to standard building codes constructed large number of high-rise buildings and structures right on local shallow faults and liquefiable zones filled by garbage and loose materials shear strength of which is much less than that of the geological bedrock. Unless a hazard map identifying zones characterised by faults, gully-fills and buried channels is drawn, he warned, pre-disaster physical planning and earthquake risk reduction would never be possible.
Earthquake experts and civil engineers at a seminar opined that all non-engineered structures of Dhaka city would totally collapse in a moderate-intensity earthquake. Based on the statistical data of Dhaka city, they said that only 5.0 per cent of all households are of reinforced concrete structure (RCC), 30 per cent are engineered masonry, 21 per cent non-engineered masonry, 5.0 per cent mud-wall structure, 9.0 per cent of galvanised iron, and the rest 30 per cent are combined wood and bamboo structures. They informed the seminar that 60 per cent structures in the old part of Dhaka city are non-engineered and 50 per cent of the non-engineered structures consist of flammable materials. Besides, most of the roads in that area are inaccessible to fire vehicles.
We should not expect spoon-feeding from the government when we have options to choose anything good from bad. If we cannot afford the best materials to use in our concrete buildings, we should live rudimentary lives in thatched houses. Rods, whatever the grades or certificates, made from scraps of old ships can no way bear the burden of our buildings as efficiently as those made from ingots from reputed manufacturers of the world. Almost all the metallic parts of an old ship, especially those of its hulk, are fatigued due to corrosion by saline water and the rods made of those worn-out metals are naturally brittle and prone to give way in case of a tremor.
Whenever there is a disaster, we look at our defense forces to salvage us. Why shouldn't we equip our fire brigades with necessary equipment, logistics and remunerative pay and benefits like those of the defense forces? If reforming our existing fire brigades is not possible, why not should we develop an independent disaster management force like RAB whose job would be to rush and salvage humanity at crisis?
Nevertheless, it is a welcome news that the government is going to commission soon a digital network of modern seismological monitoring centers with Dhaka centrally linking Chittagong, Sylhet and Rangpur through wireless and fiber optic cables.
Such network interfaced with related global networks would be able to process and disseminate information related to seismological events in a matter of seconds, thereby saving life-saving time in the event of an earthquake. Our government is also working on a UNDP and DFID-aided $14.44 million disaster-management project to reduce substantially risks of natural and man-made disasters that Bangladesh faces perennially, with a special focus on creating awareness about earthquake preparedness.
God forbid, if there is an earthquake in our country casualties would abnormally be high, no doubt. Nevertheless, a little preparedness in our households, in that event, may help many survive miraculously. We all should have sufficient water and preserved food to live independently inside our houses or apartments for at least two days. All household members should be trained in medical first aid. We should ask ourselves some questions. Are we and our neighbours prepared to assist one another? Can we do CPR? Do we know emergency treatment for broken bones, burns and bleeding? Do we know how to shut the main off our gas supply? Do we know what to do about a downed and live high voltage line touching an occupied vehicle? Do we have fire extinguishers available? Can't we make first-aid training compulsory for students in all our schools and colleges?
However, a few basic precautions listed here, if observed in the event of an earthquake in our country, may save some lives:
l 01. Do not panic.
l 02. Do not rush out immediately during the earthquake; earthquakes last only a few seconds.
l 03. Look for a safe corner - preferably, where there is a firm steel column. Avoid the centre of a building where objects can collapse on you.
l04. If there is a heavy table, hide underneath it because it will shield you from falling objects.
l 05. Switch off non-crucial lights, water and gas.
l 06. When the situation has stabilised, walk out of the building.
l 07. Do not use lifts -- use stairs.
l 08. Stand far away from buildings.
l 09. Always keep one flash light and one whistle handy; a whistle helps you transmit your location from inside a trap.
l 10. Prioritise safety and survival of children.
Maswood Alam Khan is General Manager, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, and can be reached at e-mail: [email protected]
A two-minute long eight-magnitude earthquake hit on the 15th of this month the central coast of Peru killing more than 500 people, wounding more than 1000, collapsing homes, factories and offices, cracking and cutting off roadways and leaving thousands without shelter, power and water. People of the hardest-hit cities of Canete, Chincha and Pisco were sleeping outside under open sky out of fear as the areas had been hit by several strong aftershocks. Hundreds of prisoners escaped from a jail in Chincha when the tremor tore an old prison building apart. Some people, still alive, might have been trapped under collapsed buildings. People were hugging and crying in fear on the streets. Peruvian President Alan Garcia declared three days of national mourning.
Coincidentally, the following day -- August 16 -- two earthquakes, one of 3.3-magnitude and the other 4.1, shook Bangladesh too, though without causing any damage to life and property.
In Bangladesh 536 people died in the latest flooding in 18 days since July 30 and in Peru 510 people died in their latest earthquake.
The recent flood is nothing new in Bangladesh. We faced many disastrous floods in the past -- the last two in 1988 and 1998. Similarly, the earthquake on August 15 is not a new visitor in Peru. In 1970, an earthquake killed an estimated 50,000 Peruvians in catastrophic avalanches of ice and mud that buried the town of Yungay.
We, as sufferers of natural calamities, can very well empathise with fellow sufferers in Peru. We wish we could rush there to salvage some of those Peruvians who were reportedly trapped in the rubbles of collapsed buildings. Nevertheless, we pray to the Providence to help Peruvians face the ordeal. May God grant peace to the departed souls, and courage and strength to those who have been injured and who have lost their kith and kin!
Earthquake, compared to flood, is a brutal force of nature. Flood can be scientifically forecast and we get a bit of time to evacuate those in vulnerable locations; but earthquake grabs humans, animals and plants aback. Scientists are yet to come up with a proven methodology to forecast an earthquake the way other climatic catastrophes can precisely be predicted.
Scientists and astrologers alike, especially the Chinese and the Japanese who are perennial sufferers of earthquakes, have long been attempting a variety of methods to foretell an impending earthquake. They tried to associate earthquakes with phenomena like strange animal behaviour, alignment of the Sun and Moon, weather conditions, unusual clouds, hydrogen gas content in ground water, water levels in wells and fluctuations in electromagnetic fields etc. Relying on empirical knowledge and observation, some Chinese people successfully predicted the February 4, 1975 Haicheng Earthquake of 7.3 magnitude; but they unfortunately failed to predict July 28, 1976 Tangshan Earthquake of 7.8 magnitude. In folklores, some animals, especially dogs, cats, chickens, horses, elephants and even catfish, were rendered as capable of predicting earthquakes.
We, Bangladeshis, can recall natural calamities like floods, tidal bores, and tornadoes in living memory as those happened not long ago. Many of us may not be aware of the fact that, like the Peruvians, we also faced the specters of turbulent earthquakes that hit us not eons back!
In 1897 an earthquake of eight-magnitude on the Richter scale, known as Great Assam Earthquake, devastated almost entire Bangladesh. In 1885 Bengal Earthquake of magnitude 7, also known as Manikganj Earthquake for its epicenter in Saturia of Manikganj, affected Bogra, Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Mymensingh and Dhaka regions that is recorded as one of the severe earthquakes striking the eastern region of the subcontinent. 1918 Earthquake, with its epicenter near Srimongol, also wreaked havocs on our country.
The first recorded earthquake in 1548 had shaken Sylhet and Chittagong violently though we do not have records of how many lives were taken by that tremor. Since 1548, our country has been trembled by 19 fierce earthquakes. The latest strong earthquake of 5.1 magnitude visited Barkul Upazilla, Rangamati in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in 2003. According to the geo-meteorological experts, the entire area of Bangladesh is more or less vulnerable to severe earthquakes.
The Earthquake Disaster Risk Index (EDRI) for Dhaka stands top among the twenty high-risk cities in the world! Roger Balham and Philip England, in their paper published in the "Nature" science magazine, wrote, "1897 Great Assam Earthquake constitutes a significant seismic threat to nearby densely populated regions of Bangladesh and to the capital city of Dhaka."
Thought of an earthquake measuring seven or more on the Richter scale shaking Dhaka city sends chills down our spines. Let alone seven, even a six-magnitude earthquake, I feel dead scared, may turn Dhaka metropolis the world's largest graveyard of mass burials. Except a few buildings and structures constructed under supervisions of overseas experts all buildings -- high-rise or low-lying, supported by RCC or mud-wall -- may be flattened in an apocalyptic pattern if an 1885 Bengal Earthquake-like tremor jolts Dhaka or Chittagong within 2015, the probable year when, according to return period character of 130 years, a large scale earthquake is due to hit Bangladesh.
We live in a country where illiterate masons are deemed civil engineers and landowners, who know nothing about structural designs, architects. It is again in our capital city where buildings collapse without tremors and people die more from stampedes than from accidents.
According to a field investigation, Dr. Aftab Alam Khan, Professor, Department of Geology of University of Dhaka wrote in his paper, an average fault displacement of 7.0 million occurred along several neo-faults aligned with Dhaleswari and Buriganga rivers. These active faults have potential for generating seismic energy of magnitude as high as 7.5. Moreover, as Dr. Khan opined, developers paying no heed to standard building codes constructed large number of high-rise buildings and structures right on local shallow faults and liquefiable zones filled by garbage and loose materials shear strength of which is much less than that of the geological bedrock. Unless a hazard map identifying zones characterised by faults, gully-fills and buried channels is drawn, he warned, pre-disaster physical planning and earthquake risk reduction would never be possible.
Earthquake experts and civil engineers at a seminar opined that all non-engineered structures of Dhaka city would totally collapse in a moderate-intensity earthquake. Based on the statistical data of Dhaka city, they said that only 5.0 per cent of all households are of reinforced concrete structure (RCC), 30 per cent are engineered masonry, 21 per cent non-engineered masonry, 5.0 per cent mud-wall structure, 9.0 per cent of galvanised iron, and the rest 30 per cent are combined wood and bamboo structures. They informed the seminar that 60 per cent structures in the old part of Dhaka city are non-engineered and 50 per cent of the non-engineered structures consist of flammable materials. Besides, most of the roads in that area are inaccessible to fire vehicles.
We should not expect spoon-feeding from the government when we have options to choose anything good from bad. If we cannot afford the best materials to use in our concrete buildings, we should live rudimentary lives in thatched houses. Rods, whatever the grades or certificates, made from scraps of old ships can no way bear the burden of our buildings as efficiently as those made from ingots from reputed manufacturers of the world. Almost all the metallic parts of an old ship, especially those of its hulk, are fatigued due to corrosion by saline water and the rods made of those worn-out metals are naturally brittle and prone to give way in case of a tremor.
Whenever there is a disaster, we look at our defense forces to salvage us. Why shouldn't we equip our fire brigades with necessary equipment, logistics and remunerative pay and benefits like those of the defense forces? If reforming our existing fire brigades is not possible, why not should we develop an independent disaster management force like RAB whose job would be to rush and salvage humanity at crisis?
Nevertheless, it is a welcome news that the government is going to commission soon a digital network of modern seismological monitoring centers with Dhaka centrally linking Chittagong, Sylhet and Rangpur through wireless and fiber optic cables.
Such network interfaced with related global networks would be able to process and disseminate information related to seismological events in a matter of seconds, thereby saving life-saving time in the event of an earthquake. Our government is also working on a UNDP and DFID-aided $14.44 million disaster-management project to reduce substantially risks of natural and man-made disasters that Bangladesh faces perennially, with a special focus on creating awareness about earthquake preparedness.
God forbid, if there is an earthquake in our country casualties would abnormally be high, no doubt. Nevertheless, a little preparedness in our households, in that event, may help many survive miraculously. We all should have sufficient water and preserved food to live independently inside our houses or apartments for at least two days. All household members should be trained in medical first aid. We should ask ourselves some questions. Are we and our neighbours prepared to assist one another? Can we do CPR? Do we know emergency treatment for broken bones, burns and bleeding? Do we know how to shut the main off our gas supply? Do we know what to do about a downed and live high voltage line touching an occupied vehicle? Do we have fire extinguishers available? Can't we make first-aid training compulsory for students in all our schools and colleges?
However, a few basic precautions listed here, if observed in the event of an earthquake in our country, may save some lives:
l 01. Do not panic.
l 02. Do not rush out immediately during the earthquake; earthquakes last only a few seconds.
l 03. Look for a safe corner - preferably, where there is a firm steel column. Avoid the centre of a building where objects can collapse on you.
l04. If there is a heavy table, hide underneath it because it will shield you from falling objects.
l 05. Switch off non-crucial lights, water and gas.
l 06. When the situation has stabilised, walk out of the building.
l 07. Do not use lifts -- use stairs.
l 08. Stand far away from buildings.
l 09. Always keep one flash light and one whistle handy; a whistle helps you transmit your location from inside a trap.
l 10. Prioritise safety and survival of children.
Maswood Alam Khan is General Manager, Bangladesh Krishi Bank, and can be reached at e-mail: [email protected]