Highly risky areas across Dhaka

Dhaka, home to about 20 million people, is now a highly risky city regarding earthquakes. Because the Madhupur Fault of the tectonic plate, which is within 60 kilometers of this city, has become active again where pressure has been building up for about 400 years. The sub-plates near this plate are also within 20 kilometers of Dhaka city. If a massive earthquake occurs when the strong pressure of these plates is released, a terrible disaster will befall the capital Dhaka. However, the damage will not be the same in all areas of city. Some areas will see much more and some areas will have relatively less damage. The Earthquake Observation and Research Center of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department has reported this information.

The Geological Department of the Lemont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in the United States said that the earthquake measuring 5.5 on the Richter scale that was felt in various parts of the country, including the capital Dhaka, on November 21 was the most devastating in the last two decades. It released energy equivalent to the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The earthquake caused cracks in various buildings and structures in Dhaka, Narsingdi and Narayanganj, as well as the collapse of buildings and walls, killing 10 people. More than 600 people were injured.

Experts comprehend that if the Madhupur fault and its surrounding sub-faults generate stronger earthquake than the one occurred on November 21, such as a magnitude 7 earthquake, several areas of Dhaka can be devastated.

Here are the highly risky areas of the capital Dhaka posing significant seismic risk:

Professor Mehedi Ahmed Ansari of the Civil Engineering Department of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) told View Bangladesh that the northern, eastern and western parts of the capital are the most vulnerable areas as multi-storey residential and commercial structures have been constructed on large parts of these lowlands filled with sand. This area includes Khilkhet, Bhatara, Mohammadpu, Adabor, Kamrangir Char, Meradia, Hazaribagh, Bhashantek, Rampura, Uttarkhan, Dakshinkhan, Demra and a large part of Rupnagar police station area.

Buildings have been built in these areas by filling in low-lying wetlands without specialized engineering and foundation techniques.

Regarding the seismic risk to densely populated Old Dhaka, experts said the soil in the entire area is very hard. However, as many structures are poorly built in the area, old Dhaka is considered a highly vulnerable area for earthquakes, and some experts have warned that a major earthquake could lead to catastrophic building collapse. In addition, the entire Purbachal area is at high risk of earthquakes.

Relatively low-risk areas of Dhaka:
The soil in most areas of Dhaka city is hundreds of years old. Therefore, the earthquake resistance of these areas is high due to the structure of the soil. These include Dhaka's Ramna, Paltan, Moghbazar, New Market, Lalmatia, Kotwali, Sabujbagh, Khilgaon, Motijheel, Dhanmondi, Sher-e Bangla Nagar, Mirpur, Cantonment, Pallabi, Shah-Ali, Lalbagh, Gendaria, Gulshan and Tejgaon Thana areas, as well as several old earthen areas. Even in a major earthquake, the damage to these areas may be relatively less.

Md. Rubaiyat Kabir, officer-in-charge of the Earthquake Observation and Research Center of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Views Bangladesh: "Dhaka does not have a geological fault line or fault line or sub-fault that can cause an earthquake of magnitude 8 or 9. However, there is a fault line in the Madhupur region near Dhaka (60 kilometers away) that can cause an earthquake of magnitude 7. A tremor of this magnitude will cause extensive damage to the newly filled areas of Dhaka. The number of casualties will exceed all past records. If this happens, the geographical location of the city may change."

Sharif Jamil, General Secretary of Bangladesh Environment Movement (BAPA), told Views Bangladesh: "We have always been agitating so that the low-lying and flood-prone areas around Dhaka are not filled. But the sad thing is that thousands of buildings have now been built on thick, soft, water-logged soil by filling those. Experts believe that if there is a major earthquake, that is where the biggest disaster will be. That is, we will be more responsible for such a disaster than nature."