Advisor Rizwana flags Old Dhaka’s quake vulnerability, calls urgent solutions

She says decades-old buildings now need urgent structural reinforcement to prevent future casualties

Old Dhaka and the wider capital have been described as “highly vulnerable” to earthquakes, with Environment Advisor Syeda Rizwana Hasan urging immediate engineering solutions for ageing buildings.

Speaking on Friday, she raised concern after a 5.7-magnitude earthquake killed six people, including children, in three districts and left more than 100 injured.

Multiple residential and commercial buildings developed cracks as the quake struck with significant force, causing plaster to fall from structures across several areas.

Rizwana was speaking in Mirpur after inaugurating the Indigenous Food and Grain Fair, where she referred to gaps in disaster preparedness and said a three-year programme is required to address those shortcomings.

She noted that an earthquake of this strength had not been felt in the last five years and said, “This is a repeated warning. We must prepare for it. Our new buildings follow the building code, but many existing structures do not.

“RAJUK’s statistics show that 90 percent have no approval or have violations. What happens to these buildings if such earthquakes keep repeating?”

Calling the situation alarming, she said: “I cannot offer comfort. The warnings and preparations should have begun long ago. We must start now with engineering solutions to reinforce old buildings, and stop encroaching on waterbodies and hills.”

Explaining why Dhaka and Old Dhaka face elevated risk, she said the density of buildings is very high.

“We must make these structures stronger and push for technical solutions,” she added.

The advisor also spoke about the need to improve disaster response. “We must improve disaster readiness. Even if you follow all rules, what will you do if the disaster becomes too strong? Training is necessary. A three-year programme is needed to fill the gaps considering earthquake and fire risks.”