Earthquakes
Introduction: The earthquake is a great
natural disaster. It is a sudden movement of a part of the earth’s surface
caused by deep cracks in the earth or by volcanic eruption. Some regions of the
earth are prone to earthquakes while others are relatively safe from this
natural disaster.
Earthquake-prone countries: Some
countries like Japan, Iran, Indonesia, China, etc. are frequently hit by
earthquakes. Houses and bridges in these countries are built shock-proof.
Forecasting regarding the occurrence of earthquakes is hardly possible.
Effects of an earthquake: A severe earthquake
causes colossal destruction to houses and properties. People are crushed under
the broken houses. Often several quakes hit a place at short intervals. So,
after a quake, people live in a tent on the open field. When a devastating
quake hits a population city, thousands of people are killed and injured. Many
people are trapped in broken houses and it takes days to rescue them. The
only way to get rid of the ravages of this natural disaster is to build houses,
bridges, and roads in such a way that they can resist the tremors.
Earthquake of Bangladesh: In Bangladesh,
the risk of earthquakes is going up day by day as it is increasing in the
surrounding countries. There are many reasons responsible for earthquakes in
our country.
Bangladesh lies in the active
earthquake zone as it lies along the border of Euro-Asian and Indo-Australian
plates where earthquakes are generated at regular intervals. In this region,
earthquakes may occur in a cyclic order of a hundred years. Among the seven
severe earthquakes of the Himalayan range, the last one occurred in 1905.
So according to the specialists, a
severe earthquake is likely to occur in Bangladesh. One of the most powerful
earthquakes hit southern Asia while it shook Bangladesh, and seaside towns and
villages were flooded. Besides, the quakes, of recent years remind us of
the risk of earthquakes.
Measures to be taken to reduce losses: We
cannot prevent an earthquake but we can minimize the losses by taking the
precautionary measures as given below:
- Buildings and other construction works may be made shock-proof.
- To have a survey on. Which buildings are defective/risky, make a list of those constructions and make necessary arrangements to demolish those identified constructions.
- Proper use of media to make the dwellers of old risky buildings conscious of its devastating consequences.
- To pass an executive order by the government to develop an earthquake-resistant building code to be followed as mandatory.
- To equip the Fire Brigade and Civil Defence with modern instruments and more manpower.
- To arrange regular training for the employees of all the offices and the city dwellers alike so that they can contribute something in case any earthquake occurs.
Conclusion: We are bound to face natural calamities as we cannot prevent them. So we should make well-planned
cities. Alarmed by the recurrence of quakes, experts have called for the
development of an earthquake-resistant building code that can save the lives
of city dwellers. It is a must to reduce losses.
