Every time a killer earthquake strikes any place outside the country, the general people of Bangladesh begin reviewing the pros and cons of the possibility of such a calamity. Following the recent 7.8 magnitude temblor that jolted a large tract in Turkey and Syria, a seemingly fraught mood has started creeping into the psyche of many. The sizeable segment comprises seismologists, among others. In line with this, many might remember that in the period 1988-2013 several small-scale tremors shook a few districts of the country repeatedly. Seismologists said the minor quakes would lead up to a catastrophic one. During those small eruptions, the collisions between the Indian tectonic plate and the Burmese one failed to release their trapped energy. In fact, this has been occurring since the time 800 to 1000 years ago.
In areas of Bangladesh, energy trapped in-between the vacuum of plates has the tendency to blow out. Thanks to geological reasons it has yet to occur. According to geo-science, the great energy blowout is poised to occur any time in the form of a disastrous earthquake.
The educated classes in society with a scientific bent of mind believe that a massive earthquake is in the way of Bangladesh. This is where they stop thinking further; at least until another massive earthquake hits a territory in the Asian region. Although there are graphic pictures of what a post-earthquake landscape of Dhaka would be, in fact few take it seriously. That an earthquake with 5+ on the Richter scale could spawn great devastations eludes many. Seismologists believe an 8.2 magnitude temblor cannot be ruled out for Dhaka. If that does occur, parts of the city might turn into sheer heaps of concrete rubble. The enormity of the deaths and injuries would be appalling.
The city planners of Dhaka haven't failed to emphasise the drawbacks of the country's capital. The first of those comes in the form of poor planning of the city. It is being made worse by overpopulation, unplanned constructions and poor road network. When an earthquake strikes, it behaves without discrimination. To some extent natural disasters are a great leveller, earthquake being one of them. Yet humans have a great role in mitigating sufferings. Proper city planning, in other words the detailed area plan, can deal with many deficiencies. If they are not under the scanner of higher and relevant authorities on time, Dhaka mess-up will aggravate the earthquake impacts.
In an overpopulated city with narrow neighbourhood roads and alleyways, conducting rescue operations may turn out to be a massive challenge. It's the rural area-based and spacious human settlements in Turkey which fell under the wrath of the recent earthquake. The irony is in spite of this spacious landscape the Turkish village people couldn't escape the quake's multiple impacts. In the late 1980s Dhaka had put lots of stress on earthquake drills and mock rescue operations. Unfortunately, those eventually fizzled out. The reason could be a wrong notion that Dhaka is out of the path of earthquakes. According to experts, Dhaka and some other districts are very much within the range of temblors. Given the earthquakes being overdue for long in the country, a tiny shake-up could see a devastating aftermath.
Dhaka's fear arises from a number of factors. Two of them are its high density of population, and the lack of logistics needed for rescue operations. Therescue gears' necessity cannot be felt in times of frequent natural disasters like storms or floods. But they are badly needed after the strike of catastrophic tornados and nor'westers leading to the collapse of weak buildings and other structures. Although the earthquake-focused rescue tools might not be needed at the moment, given the disaster's unpredictability the tools' necessity may arise any time, be it day or night. Massive earthquake energies may lurk beneath tectonic plates for long, and may strike any place in their full force.
