Roadmap for disaster management

Bangladesh is at a high risk of devastating earthquakes of high magnitude any time as it is situated in an earthquake-prone area on active tectonic plates. Many big earthquakes had taken place in the past in the area.
 Yet the country is lacking in capacity and ability to take proper initiatives after earthquakes, risking greater magnitude of damages after earthquakes. A recent study suggests that Mymensingh district is most vulnerable to quakes amongst all other districts in the country. Other cities like Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet cities are also at high risk of earthquake threat.
 The level of damage is feared to be higher than the actual magnitude of the earthquake, due to unplanned urbanisation and lack of preparedness and awareness. According to a survey conducted under the Comprehensive Disaster Management, in Dhaka city, out of 0.32 million buildings, 0.14 million are without any steel or rod structures which are extremely susceptible to quacks.
If a 7.5 magnitude or above earthquake happens near Dhaka, about 90,000 people will die, 80,000 buildings and 12,000 schools will collapse, 15,000 electric polls will be damaged with 30 million tonnes of debris, according to the study.
Geologists say the Burma plate is now overriding the Indian plate and at one point these plates will lock together and then get separated again, and that is when a 7.0-8.0 magnitude or above earthquake will jolt Bangladesh. The capital's old town area is highly vulnerable for the old buildings and narrow roads, while most of the buildings in new town are yet to follow the National Building Code 1993.
In fact, a large number of high rises in the city have been raised violating approved designs. More than 2,000 residential buildings have been located in Dhaka city, which are being used for commercial purposes, in breach of rules. There is no reason to believe that the situation is any different in other cities and towns across the country.
Besides tremors, the country is also vulnerable to recurring floods, cyclones and tidal surges. Natural disasters are pushing more and more people below the poverty line, making them landless, homeless and depriving them of their livelihood. Even the rural well-to-do people are forced to become day-labourers. An effective disaster management can otherwise reverse this trend.
Effective disaster management relies on thorough integration of emergency plans at all levels of government and non-government organisations. Activities at each level (individual, group, community) affect the other levels.
It is, however, common to place the responsibility for governmental emergency management with the institutions for civil defence or within the conventional structure of the emergency services. In the private sector, emergency management is sometimes referred to as a business continuity planning.
Bangladesh is the first South Asian country which had initiated to make a law on disaster management in the mid-1990s. But ironically it took more than 20 years to get the law enacted in 2012. Many countries like India and Sri Lanka, which took Bangladesh as an example over the issue, made such acts quite earlier.
The Disaster Management Act (DMA) 2012 was approved by parliament after long and collective efforts by the government and civil society actors with the view to creating the legislative tool under which disaster and emergency management will be undertaken.
It laid out specific obligations and responsibilities for the relevant ministries, departments and committees, and seeks to ensure transparency and accountability in the overall disaster management system.
The Act paves the way for promoting a comprehensive disaster management programme taking into account all-hazard, all-risk and all-sector approaches where risk reduction as a core element of disaster management has equal emphasis like that on emergency response management with greater focus on equitable and sustainable development.
In fact, there is a need to prepare a roadmap on disaster management for the South Asian region focusing on strengthening the communities at risks of disasters to reduce risks and prevent major hazards of disasters. An initiative should be taken in this regard by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to develop a common roadmap for the region. Comprehensive database on community-based disaster risk management programme should also be developed.
As a nation, Bangladesh needs to make all-out efforts to minimise the impacts of the hazards through proper disaster management planning. In disaster-prone Bangladesh, all disaster management activities must be integrated under the national development plan to avoid duplication of measures. It would make disaster management and development efforts cost-effective. Advanced technology opened new opportunities for minimising the impacts of natural disasters to accelerate economic development.
In accordance with the DMA provisions, the disaster management committees at national, district and thana levels need to be activated in case of any emergent situation. The government needs to mobilise at all levels the non- government organisations (NGOs), community based organisations, private sector bodies and individual citizens and involve the development partners in relief activities.
The government and the private sector need to demonstrate much more seriousness in addressing such war-like situation arising out of incidents like the Rana Plaza tragedy, with improved coordination among the relevant agencies. This will inject an overall sense of confidence among the affected citizens as well as mobilise them to meet the gigantic challenges posed by any catastrophe in future.
Both the government and private sector agencies should realise that  disasters such as earthquakes are increasingly posing grave threat to the country. As the ultimate effects of such disasters will be loss of thousands of lives, it is high time to address these problems.
It is very essential for the government to streamline Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) in Dhaka and other authorities in other cities and district towns responsible for monitoring and inspection of buildings.
Also, there should be a stronger and more coordinated disaster management system in case of a severe quake hitting the country in future. Rescue volunteers must be trained and equipped to deal with such incidents in the most efficient manner possible.                                                               
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