At least 78% buildings in Chittagong city are vulnerable to earthquake as these structures have been built defying earthquake-resistant building code.
According to a survey conducted by Institute of Earthquake Engineering Research under Chittagong University Engineering and Technology (Cuet), a total of 142,000 out of 182,000 building in the port city are vulnerable to earthquake.
The survey published on October 1, 2011 also said mass destruction could happen upon the buildings in the event of an 8.5 magnitude earthquake.
Talking to the Dhaka Tribune yesterday, Prof Dr Jahangir Alam who is now the Vice-Chancellor of the Cuet said the survey conducted in 2011 was still relevant.
“There were as many as 182,000 buildings in Chittagong city in 2011. Now the number of total buildings might stands at around 200,000. However, the extent of vulnerability remains the same,” said Prof Alam.
“First of all we all should abide by Bangladesh National Building Code. The buildings which were constructed without implementing earthquake resistant building code now have an option left and that is called retrofitting. Retrofitting is a process of strengthening older buildings in order to make them earthquake resistant. Retrofitting an existing building can sometimes be more cost-effective than building a new facility,” suggested Prof Alam.
Admitting to the relevance of the survey report, Shahinul Islam Khan, chief town Planner of the CDA said: “We are conducting drives on a regular basis against the errant building constructors and realtors which are defying the plan approved by us.
“According to the extent of risk involved, the Chittagong Development Authority has classified the deviated buildings into three distinct categories-minor, medium and major.”
“We cannot say for sure when an earthquake is going hit an area. However, we can certainly minimize the loss. We should not ignore the recurring of low-magnitude earthquakes since it is a precursor to high-magnitude earthquake,” added Khan who is also an architect.
“We can save ourselves from the danger of an earthquake by spending a little amount of money while constructing a building. We can easily build an earthquake resistant building if we are willing to bear an additional 7-8 percent cost,” said Khan.
“We should panic in the event of an earthquake. To raise awareness among the people, film and drama regarding what to do during an earthquake should be screened on television channels. Documentary should be screened at educational institutions’, suggested Khan.
Prof Dr Jahangir Alam, former dean of Civil Engineering Department, and former Director of Institute of Earthquake Engineering Research, Cuet conducted the three-year survey.
As per the survey report, at least 70% schools of Chittagong city would be destroyed if an 8.5 earthquake hits the city.
Priority was attached to the educational institutes compared to the residential buildings since there are more people in the schools during classes rather in residential buildings.
Most of the schools were constructed flouting building code. All the hospitals in the city apart from Chittagong Medical College and Hospital are running the earthquake risk since most of the hospitals were built following residential plans while all the private hospitals are in fact residential buildings. A total of 8 out of total 13 power sub-stations in the city are vulnerable to earthquake, the survey report pointed out.
