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Govt unequipped to face a strong earthquake

SABRINA KARIM MURSHED
The government is not sufficiently equipped to manage a disaster in case of strong earthquake striking Dhaka City, sources in Disaster Management Bureau said.
The bureau does not have the capacity to conduct rescue operations by itself -- it only coordinates between different rescue bodies. These organisations lack necessary equipment for search, rescue and rubble removing.
"Fire Service and Civil Defence department and army have some equipment of conducting rescue operations but these are not sufficient to tackle any major disaster," said a high official of the bureau.
These two authorities are the first ones to respond during emergency, he added.
Asked why necessary equipment are not available, the official explained that most of the equipment for rescue operation do not have any use during peacetime. "These equipment rust away and become unusable," he said.
"May be that is the reason any authority hesitates to buy them," the official said.
He said the bureau in 2001 sent letters to different organisations in the country to know the status of their rescue equipment. "Most of them responded and let us know the number of usable equipment but that does not give a clear picture until now."
In some cases old equipment have gone out of order while some organisations have procured new ones, he clarified. "So we do not know the present status."
According to Bangladesh Earthquake Society (BES), at least 100,000 solid structures exist in the capital. "Around 1,100 of them are more than 10-storey while almost 3,000 are more than six-storey," said Dr Mehdi Ahmed Ansary, secretary general of BES.
He said at least 30 percent of these structures may collapse if an earthquake with a magnitude of seven on the Richter Scale hits the city having a population of 10 million.
Experts in the field said survivors should be rescued within 72 hours in case of being trapped under debris. But the experience of the collapsed garment factory in Savar has exposed the government's failure to do so, they observed.
However, the bureau official explained that the ground at the accident site in Savar was too soft that hindered operation of bulldozers or other heavy equipment.
He also said that 'pancake effect' (when all floors cave in together) usually does not happen during an earthquake. "In most cases earthquake leaves a building tilted."
Officials of the bureau identified narrow lanes and by-lanes in the city as a basic problem that would hamper rescue operation especially in the old part of the city. "It would be a catastrophe if an earthquake hits old Dhaka," said one of them.
Sources said a government-formed expert committee submitted a report on March 27 stating what kinds of equipment would be needed to face any disaster like earthquake. The ministry concerned has already approved 33 items that will be imported soon.
The list of items includes excavators, pause pull rams, portable air compressor, helicopter hoist hook, rescue harness, fire finder infrared heat sensor, micro thermal imaging camera and listening devices.
Some officials, however, commented that importing devices would not be enough but users should be trained properly.
They also stressed public awareness. "Community itself is the first respondent in any type of calamity," said one of them. He said the mock exercise on post-earthquake measures in Dhupkhola on April 12 helped people understand what to do in such a situation.
"The government has taken the issue seriously and the disaster management and relief ministry has ordered import of more rescue devices, " said Syed Mohammad Zobaer, director general of the bureau.