Committee formed in Narsingdi to assess damage after deadly earthquake

The panel is tasked with identifying buildings that have tilted or developed cracks

Authorities in Narsingdi have formed a committee to assess structural damage after Friday’s powerful earthquake, which left five people dead in the district and caused cracks in more than 100 buildings.

The district administration said it is surveying government and private structures that were damaged or developed cracks during the 5.7-magnitude quake, the strongest to hit Bangladesh in decades.

Narsingdi Municipality has also set up a four-strong team to identify buildings in the town that have tilted or sustained visible damage.

Municipal Administrator Md Monowar Hossain said the committee, led by the municipality’s executive engineer, has begun inspecting affected areas. A district-level committee will later produce an overall damage assessment.

Early findings indicate cracks in several key facilities, including four residential buildings at the Palash Upazila Health Complex, the district administration office, and the Circuit House. Many smaller residential buildings have also been affected.

The connection between the national grid and the Ghorashal Power Plant, damaged after a post-quake fire, was restored on Friday night, officials said.

Narsingdi recorded five deaths during the quake. Among them were a father and son who were struck by a collapsing eave from a house, an elderly man crushed under a wall, a man who fell from a tree, and another who died after suffering a heart attack in panic.

Monowar said the funerals of all five victims have been completed. The district administration has provided Tk 25,000 in immediate assistance to each family.

He added that those injured in the quake have been discharged from hospital. “No one is currently under hospital care. A few people are receiving treatment at home,” he said.