Earthquake in Bangladesh

It was just a usual morning. I was getting ready for the office. Suddenly everything happened in front of me. I was astonished to see such big waves in our pond. I never saw waves on the pond like that. That tsunami and earthquake in Bangladesh, on December 26, 2004, took almost 230000 lives of people and hampered thousand crores loss of the country’s economy.

It did not hit only Bangladesh. Almost every country in the south and southeast Asia was affected by the Tsunami. Experts said the tsunami was happened due to the earthquake under the sea. Here, we can imagine how severe the impact of an earthquake could be!

This earthquake not only hit Bangladesh but also hit its economy. Bangladesh lost thousands of crores for an earthquake. In fact, the economy of the country is always in danger of earthquakes and floods. The recent earthquake that hit Nepal proved the actual scenario for the earthquake risk in Bangladesh.

A study says that a high magnitude earthquake can demolish the capital city of Dhaka as well as all other cities in Bangladesh. Because the earthquake risk zone in Bangladesh remains calm for thousands of years with the fault lines and may hit in the near future.

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Earthquake in Bangladesh

An earthquake had happened in Sylhet while I was writing this article last Tuesday. Furthermore, 11 several earthquakes also happened in last 1 year, earthquake track, a famous earthquake study center published the statistics.

Bangladesh, geographically, is located in the risk zone of the earthquake. For this reason, the earthquake in Bangladesh is a common matter to the people. We are lucky enough as no severe incident happens in years.

Most of the areas in Bangladesh are located on the maximum magnitude zone of the tectonic blocks. Different level of fault zones in or near Bangladesh are

1. Bogra fault zone with magnitude level 7.00;
2. Tripura fault zone with 7.00;
3. Dauki fault zone with 7.00;
4. Shillong fault zone with 7.00 and
5. Assam fault zone with 8.50 magnitude level. We should be grateful that there is no higher magnitude level fault zone in Bangladesh.

We should be grateful that there is no higher magnitude level fault zone in Bangladesh. Still, bad things may happen.

Earthquake Risk in Bangladesh

Almost 82% percent of buildings in the capital city of Bangladesh are at stake of earthquakes. As a result, most of the people living in the residential area are also in the risk of death or serious injuries in a medium level earthquake.

The statistics of the national bureau show that more than half of the total buildings are in the damaged position which may lead to moderate losses both for the property and lives. The worst thing is that buildings here are built without abiding by the code of the building provided by the city corporation and the authorities concerned.

Frequent earthquakes had happened in the last few years. For these reasons, the government and scientists are getting more interested to collect the data and analyze the actual fact of the earthquake. They want to get ensured the impact of the future earthquake in Bangladesh.

But the result of the study has a pivotal scenario for the country not only for Bangladesh but also for India and Myanmar. Scientists and geologists have found that there are two lithospheric plates in the subcontinent which are colliding. The collision can be the cause of an earthquake of the higher level for example 8.2 or more on the Richter scale.

Just imagine the situation and result for an 8.2 Richter scale earthquake. The region is the most densely populated area of the world. Only in Bangladesh, more than 170 million people are in serious danger. Again, along with India and Myanmar, more than 150 crore people can be of the serious impact of any higher level earthquake in the magnitude.

So, what are the precautions against the upcoming disaster? Experts say that there will be an earthquake and it takes no more time for 400 or 500 years. But we, the people of this region is building the building by breaking the safety building codes. As the people, so the government. We must be conscious to see the consequences of the recent earthquake held in Nepal.

Earthquake risk zone in Bangladesh

It is believed that Bangladesh is risk-free from the heavier earthquake because of its land structure. Naturally, Bangladesh is located at the waterlogged, low-lying area and also in the largest delta area of the world, actually in the draining of the Bay of Bengal.

Every year Gigaton of river sediments are deposited for the flow of the two big rivers, Padma, and the Brahmaputra. The sediment eclipses structure of the soil and the land.

Moreover, scientists now believe that the tectonic plates, which were harmless before, collide with each other because of the sediment and can create a disaster for the country.

Geographically, Bangladesh is located in the tectonic plate area. Also, the Indian plate pushes the tectonic plate to the Eurasian plate area which can cause a great earthquake. Already, we have seen some major earthquakes in neighboring countries such as India, Nepal, Myanmar, and Pakistan. For this reason, there are always tremors in Bhutan.

But, international journals report that three-fourth parts of the country are at risk for a severe earthquake. The northern-east zone of the country is the danger zone for a major disaster. The sediments of Padma- Brahmaputra- Jamuna leads the three-fourth portions of the country to the major earthquake. On the other hand, the hill tracts of Chittagong, Sylhet, Madhapur, Mymensingh, and Lalmai can’t escape another one portion from the disaster.

Future Earthquake in Bangladesh

In recent years, scientists and experts have given different opinions by getting reports about the earthquake. They now say that a severe earthquake is being built under Bangladesh. Though Bangladesh is the most densely country, the people here are not conscious of their shelter. Also, the sediments of the rivers have a huge impact on the upcoming disaster.

Geologists, now, say that the two tectonic plates are quaking constantly. But the most fearsome matter is that the plates are under the land of Bangladesh. So, the lives of about 170 million people can be lost in a moment by the greatest disaster of all time.

Also, if there is no earthquake, Bangladesh can also be shaken by the nearest earthquake of the neighboring countries. This can also can lead to a huge loss for the building as well as the lives of the people.

Bangladesh Earthquake History

During the 100 years, several major earthquakes have affected Bangladesh and the neighboring countries which were more than 7 in the Richter scale. In addition to the list, 29 major earthquakes of Richter scale 6 or more were also affected the country.

By the way, earthquake always follows a recurrent rule to occur. So, it is time to be conscious though we can’t deny or protect the disaster. But by taking the precautions, we can minimize the loss.

List of The major earthquakes In Bangladesh

Earthquake in Dhaka

As Dhaka is the most densely populated city with more than 45000 people lives per kilometer, it has also the highest risk for occurring any disaster. Also, the megacity is extremely ill-planned, or without a plan, most of the buildings here are at a stake of crushing by a slight or medium earthquake.

The most regret thing for the megacity is that there was no building code before 1993. As a result, buildings were built as the wish of the owners. Also, RAJUK or Rajdhani Unnayan Kottripokkho led the city to an extremely vulnerable place by occurring corruption.

So, the recurrence of the Great Bengal earthquake of 1885 or the Great Indian Earthquake of 1897 may lead the Dhaka city to an abandoned place. The catastrophe can take more than 20 million lives or even beyond imagination.

Bottom Line

Though an earthquake depends on a lot of factors; we can’t ignore that earthquake in Bangladesh might be very dangerous as it’s in the risk zone. The recurrence of earthquakes for recent years are also the proofs and indicators of a large scale catastrophe.

On the other hand, we may have the lack of knowledge or our system is corrupted, but when it is a disaster, we should come forward to save ourselves. The government should take proper steps to build a safe country by decentralizing the authorities.

Do you have any experience of an earthquake in Bangladesh? Share it with us in the comment section below or go ahead and submit an article on the risk of the earthquake in Bangladesh.