How much sustainable are the structures in Dhaka and Chittagong to earthquakes?
Haphazard construction of buildings and unplanned urbanisation has multiplied Dhakas vulnerability to earthquakes. Even the recently-prepared detailed area plan was not formulated in a proper manner. While how many buildings can be constructed in an area and/or how tall they can be should decided on the nature of soil, there was no such study on nature and quality of different areas in the capital. Moreover, there is virtually no monitoring of under-construction buildings. Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha operates with only 620 people. It also does not have sufficient logistics either to do the monitoring or detect vulnerability of buildings. Almost all non-engineered buildings of two or more storeys are extremely vulnerable to tremors as these buildings are not constructed on concrete columns. The buildings having no concrete columns cannot withstand any horizontal force. These buildings can only withstand the vertical pressure. As quakes shake structures horizontally, not vertically, it
