Post accident management in Dhaka: Lessons learnt
Saturday, 23 October 2010
Shafiqul Alam
Rescue capsule, named Phoenix, saved some 33 trapped miners in Chile, whereas a bus that fell into river Turag in Dhaka with about 50 passengers was salvaged after 58 hours of rescue operation involving over 100 personnel from the Army, Navy, Coastguard, Fire brigade and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority. After the rescue operation, only 11-12 dead bodies were found and rest of the passengers was missing. This informs us about the fact about 'how incapable we are to manage the post-accident situation'. Only those who suffer can understand the depth of a tragedy. But the sad part is that in a few days or weeks time the nation and authorities forget everything and the general public accepts the whole thing as fate.
Bangladesh, as a whole, lies in the earthquake zone which indicates that 'major earthquakes in the Himalayan region may take place. In the event the capital city of Bangladesh will be most affected. This vulnerability has become all the more alarming because of the existing dense population along with unplanned construction boom. If quake strikes unplanned sewerage system, hanging overhead cables, gas and water line will create problems more than any apprehension.
Fire hazards occur frequently in Dhaka which causes huge loss of lives and properties every year. Most fire events are far from being accidental. Indeed, most fires are avoidable. Industrial units, particularly garments industry, cause deadliest of the fires. Fire incidents in the country are increasing at an alarming rate. Numerous fire incidents occur every year which causes damage to property worth more than Tk 1.0 billion per year. The Nimtoli tragedy alone caused more than hundred deaths.
The building of Spectrum garments factory at Savar, Dhaka collapsed during the tenure of the past elected government. Though people from inside the building were seeking help, we were technically so inefficient that we had nothing to do but to observe the situation. Late Mrs. Nasreen Huq of Action Aid Bangladesh talked with the Indian disaster management team regarding the accident and they assured to help where a formal request was required by the government of Bangladesh, but our government refused to send a formal request thinking that the failure of the government to rescue people from a building collapse would be known to other countries. The outcome is known to all- we could not save their lives.
Experience from various operations during the accident management suggests: a) Almost all the required equipment remain idle due to their inaccessibility to the site. b) Lack of awareness of mass people on the stages of rescue operations. c) Insufficient /lack of appropriate modern equipments to rescue the victims alive.
Bangladesh is one of technically least capable countries in the world, with extremely limited resources; its real development is not possible without the adoption of post-accident programmes. It is time now to look at the preparation regarding technology induced accidents such as fire, building collapse, road & rail accidents etc., as this is closely linked with the sustainable development. The pre-requisite to do this, is to realise 'gaps' and 'weakness' in the existing systems in Bangladesh. The problems so far faced are not difficult to solve. Planned approach can bring holistic preparedness in managing the post-accident hazard incidences. Following steps can be followed:
l Arranging training to ensure prompt response
l Widening roads so that the rescue team can be reached to the sites easily
l Arranging sufficient fire fighting equipment and personnel of fire brigades
l Assuring sufficient quantity of water during fire hazards by the Water Supply Authorities.
l Arranging appropriate equipments (should be imported if needed) to rescue the victims alive
l Arranging training programmes to use the equipments conveniently
l Improvement regarding coordinated and integrated efforts among concerned authorities
l Creating mass awareness among the people on the stages of rescue operation
l Planning to shift overhead crisscrossed cables, unplanned pipelines
l Arranging transports so that the victims can be taken to the hospital
Even though technology induced hazards occur without prior notice but still the casualties can be reduced if a pre-planned approach is taken. Again strict laws, if applied, accidents can be reduced up to a significant level.
An engineer, the writer can be reached at Email: shafiq@iidfc.com
Rescue capsule, named Phoenix, saved some 33 trapped miners in Chile, whereas a bus that fell into river Turag in Dhaka with about 50 passengers was salvaged after 58 hours of rescue operation involving over 100 personnel from the Army, Navy, Coastguard, Fire brigade and Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority. After the rescue operation, only 11-12 dead bodies were found and rest of the passengers was missing. This informs us about the fact about 'how incapable we are to manage the post-accident situation'. Only those who suffer can understand the depth of a tragedy. But the sad part is that in a few days or weeks time the nation and authorities forget everything and the general public accepts the whole thing as fate.
Bangladesh, as a whole, lies in the earthquake zone which indicates that 'major earthquakes in the Himalayan region may take place. In the event the capital city of Bangladesh will be most affected. This vulnerability has become all the more alarming because of the existing dense population along with unplanned construction boom. If quake strikes unplanned sewerage system, hanging overhead cables, gas and water line will create problems more than any apprehension.
Fire hazards occur frequently in Dhaka which causes huge loss of lives and properties every year. Most fire events are far from being accidental. Indeed, most fires are avoidable. Industrial units, particularly garments industry, cause deadliest of the fires. Fire incidents in the country are increasing at an alarming rate. Numerous fire incidents occur every year which causes damage to property worth more than Tk 1.0 billion per year. The Nimtoli tragedy alone caused more than hundred deaths.
The building of Spectrum garments factory at Savar, Dhaka collapsed during the tenure of the past elected government. Though people from inside the building were seeking help, we were technically so inefficient that we had nothing to do but to observe the situation. Late Mrs. Nasreen Huq of Action Aid Bangladesh talked with the Indian disaster management team regarding the accident and they assured to help where a formal request was required by the government of Bangladesh, but our government refused to send a formal request thinking that the failure of the government to rescue people from a building collapse would be known to other countries. The outcome is known to all- we could not save their lives.
Experience from various operations during the accident management suggests: a) Almost all the required equipment remain idle due to their inaccessibility to the site. b) Lack of awareness of mass people on the stages of rescue operations. c) Insufficient /lack of appropriate modern equipments to rescue the victims alive.
Bangladesh is one of technically least capable countries in the world, with extremely limited resources; its real development is not possible without the adoption of post-accident programmes. It is time now to look at the preparation regarding technology induced accidents such as fire, building collapse, road & rail accidents etc., as this is closely linked with the sustainable development. The pre-requisite to do this, is to realise 'gaps' and 'weakness' in the existing systems in Bangladesh. The problems so far faced are not difficult to solve. Planned approach can bring holistic preparedness in managing the post-accident hazard incidences. Following steps can be followed:
l Arranging training to ensure prompt response
l Widening roads so that the rescue team can be reached to the sites easily
l Arranging sufficient fire fighting equipment and personnel of fire brigades
l Assuring sufficient quantity of water during fire hazards by the Water Supply Authorities.
l Arranging appropriate equipments (should be imported if needed) to rescue the victims alive
l Arranging training programmes to use the equipments conveniently
l Improvement regarding coordinated and integrated efforts among concerned authorities
l Creating mass awareness among the people on the stages of rescue operation
l Planning to shift overhead crisscrossed cables, unplanned pipelines
l Arranging transports so that the victims can be taken to the hospital
Even though technology induced hazards occur without prior notice but still the casualties can be reduced if a pre-planned approach is taken. Again strict laws, if applied, accidents can be reduced up to a significant level.
An engineer, the writer can be reached at Email: shafiq@iidfc.com