Seminar on Advances in Earthquake Research and Modern Building Codes

19^th July, 2018

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (DCEE) of North South University organized a seminar on "Advances in Earthquake Research and Modern Building Codes". The key note Speaker was Dr. MehediAhmed Ansary, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET, Principal Editor: Earthquake Resistant Design Manual, Former Vice President: Bangladesh Earthquake Society, Founder Director: BUET-Japan Institute of Disaster Prevention & Urban Safety.

Bangladesh, a densely populated country in South Asia, is located in the northeastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the head of the Bay of Bengal. Geographical location of Bangladesh makes it ideally suited to earthquake. Bangladesh is surrounded by the regions of high seismicity which include the Himalayan Arc and shillong plateau in the north, the Burmese Arc, Arakan Yoma anticlinorium in the east and complex Naga-Disang-Jaflong thrust zones in the northeast. The historical seismicity data of Bangladesh and adjoining areas indicate that Bangladesh is vulnerable to earthquake hazards. As Bangladesh is the world’s most densely populated area, any future earthquake shall affect more people per unit area than any other seismically active regions of the world. So that proper hazard mitigation measures may be undertaken before it is too late

The nature and the distribution of the earthquake events in different seismic zones of the country are intrinsically related to various tectonic elements. The increased frequency of earthquake events in Bangladesh in the last 30 years suggests reviving tectonic activity. In case of severe earthquake and increased probability of earthquakes the risk on the loss of life and damage to the property in Bangladesh will be quite high. Four severest risk zones in the country are inferred those include northern part of Dinajpur, Rangpur, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Tangail, northern part of Dhaka, Khulna, Jessor, Kushtia, and Chittagong. Considering the devastating impact of such impending earthquake on land and society and the lack of adequate infrastructures for earthquake studies, the installation of network of high-sensitivity modern seismographs with all components is immediately needed. Valid predictions of earthquakes can thus be made and warnings are issued in order to minimize loss of lives and damage to properties. Emphasis is given to the needs for undertaking public awareness program through physical planning of human settlements, following the building codes, and implementing the management techniques of settlements for both pre-disaster preparedness and post-disaster management.