Published in The Daily Star on Monday, 4 May 2015
Macro Mirror
When the roof collapses
Dr Fahmida Khatun
AS I finished writing condolence letters to my Nepalese colleagues and friends, who fortunately were spared from the deadly earthquake though some had to take shelter in tents for the whole week, I began to learn about earthquakes as a layman: Why it happens and what should be done to save ourselves from such havoc.
According to scientists, earthquakes are inevitable in many parts of Asia including Bangladesh. The epicentre in Nepal was only about 750 kilometres far from Bangladesh. Though the intensity of the earthquake was not felt so strongly this time in Bangladesh and the casualty was not high, it can get worse anytime in future. Of course, several reports of cracking and slanting of buildings are coming to the media following the earthquake of 25th April.
Time and again, experts and urban planners have warned about the looming dangers of the way Dhaka city is being developed. The city has experienced unprecedented growth both in terms of population, buildings and vehicles during the last four decades. To cite population numbers, in 1974 population of Dhaka Statistical Metropolitan Area was 2,068,353 which increased to 14,543,124 in 2011. With a population density of 30,748 per square kilometre (Population Census 2011), Dhaka is one of the fastest growing megacities in the world. It is projected in the World Urbanisation Prospects (2014) of the UN that between 2014 and 2050, Bangladesh will contribute more than 50 million to global urban expansion.
Understandably, the housing and commercial requirements of such a large number of people are enormous. The high rise plush office buildings, hotels, shopping complex, apartments do not symbolise the city of a low income country. Various parts of Dhaka city are jokingly compared with Manhattan of New York city. But most parts of the city have been developed in an unplanned manner, without following land use planning and building standards making them difficult to access for providing essential services.
We have seen how difficult it was for the fire brigade to undertake rescue operation and reach out to the victims when there were incidences of fire. Buildings are constructed without any building codes with narrow approach roads where electric lines dangle dangerously, and waste management and sewage system barely exist. Even if the rescue team reaches the distressed people, taking them to safe places and hospitals through harrowing traffic congestion due to limited and overcrowded roads is another challenge. Thus the impact of disasters is amplified in many ways even during responses to incidences.
While talking about building codes, institutional weakness and lack of governance appear to be major concerns. During the infamous Rana Plaza tragedy this was unveiled to us. Influential people can ignore official guidelines and acquire land and do constructions wherever and whichever way they like to. The voice of environmentalists and conscious citizens against grabbing lakes and rivers or the greeneries and civic facilities such as parks and playgrounds go unheeded and are often tamed by muscle power and money. As a result, buildings are built without any proper soil test, with low quality materials and without the supervision of the concerned authorities.
Unfortunately, we do not take preventive measures well in advance for any catastrophe. We only react to them, but in an insufficient manner. The impact of an earthquake of similar magnitude in Bangladesh will also be massive for the same reasons as for Nepal. Densely populated poor areas have always been the most affected ones during all disasters – be it flood, cyclone, tsunami or earthquake. With poor infrastructural facilities they are less prepared to deal with such emergencies.
Clearly, the socio-economic impact of such disasters is also very large. Destruction of physical infrastructure affects livelihoods of the poor community and limits their access to educational and health care facilities. In case of Nepal, as the dust of the wreckage settles down, the country will face extreme challenges to rehabilitate the affected people and recover from the mammoth economic loss that it has suffered.
Does the experience of Nepal carry any lesson for us? Are we prepared? Ostensibly, yes. There have been various projects funded by donors such as UNDP and the World Bank on the preparedness for earthquake. However, there are probably only a handful of people who know what should be done when an earthquake strikes us, even though education and awareness building about risks and preventive measures to reduce risks are the first steps to any policy guideline on earthquake.
Earthquakes cannot be prevented. But the extent of destruction can be reduced through preparedness, and proper and timely responses. As other natural calamities, we will have to learn to adapt to earthquake disaster. In order to do so, proper planning, good governance and enforcement of regulation are critically important. This is a multi-dimensional task and needs coordination among various ministries starting from the Ministry of Disaster Management to Ministry of Environment and Forest, Ministry of Land, Ministry of Law, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and of course Ministry of Finance for adequate resource allocation. The recovery and rehabilitation process will also involve many more departments and ministries. However, this is not only an issue to be tackled by the government alone. It will have to be managed by all stakeholders as each one of us will be affected in the short and long term.
The writer is Research Director at CPD, currently a Visiting Scholar at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York.