DHAKA — A Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology researcher said Friday that recent smaller tremors could be advance warnings of a major earthquake.
Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, a professor of civil engineering at BUET and an earthquake researcher, told BBC Bangla on Friday, Nov. 21: “Small earthquakes occur before a large one comes. That is its advance warning.”
Ansary said: “Usually, a region faces the risk of a large-magnitude earthquake every 100 to 150 years. In Bangladesh and surrounding areas, there has been one large and about five medium-magnitude earthquakes in the last 150 years.”
“The last large earthquake near Bangladesh occurred about 100 years ago. So there is a risk that another large earthquake could happen in the near future,” he said.
Speaking on awareness, Ansary said: “It is natural that damage will be greater if buildings are constructed without following the building code. It is urgent to identify and take action on risky buildings. Especially in large cities like Dhaka and Chattogram, the risk of damage is increasing because of buildings being constructed without planning.”
The Dhaka district administration has opened an emergency control room to exchange accident-related information and communications after a sudden 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck the capital.
Initial information indicates seven people have been killed and more than 200 injured in the Friday morning earthquake. Several buildings in the city have also been damaged. The Dhaka district administration opened the emergency control room to facilitate the overall exchange of accident-related information, officials said.
A press release from the disaster management branch of the district commissioner’s office confirmed the information.
The release said the earthquake was felt at 10:38 a.m. Friday. Immediately after the quake, a “control room” was opened on an emergency basis at the Dhaka district commissioner’s office to monitor the overall damage situation and conduct necessary rescue operations.
The release, signed by Dhaka District Commissioner Md. Rezaul Karim, specifically asked the public to contact the control room numbers for any accident-related information exchange and emergency needs.
Control room numbers:
Mobile: 01700-716678
Phone: 02-41051065
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report