Friday’s earthquake served as a stark warning for Dhaka, exposing fragile building standards and disorganised urban planning. Millions now remain in unsafe structures with no secure refuge should a stronger tremor strike — a scenario experts say could spell catastrophe for the capital.
As of reporting time, at least ten people had died and more than 500 were injured in the 5.7-magnitude quake that shook the country.
Although considered moderate, the tremor caused visible cracks across numerous multi-storey buildings in Dhaka, underscoring the city’s growing structural fragility.
Professor Mehedi Ahmed Ansary of the Civil Engineering Department at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) warned that Dhaka’s vulnerability is extreme. The city holds 2.1 million buildings, including 600,000 structures six storeys or taller — many of them built with weak regulatory oversight.
“Even a moderate earthquake like this one caused widespread cracking. The damage is a clear reminder that ignoring building codes leads to predictable and preventable destruction,” Ansary told TIMES of Bangladesh.
Experts further cautioned that Friday’s tremor may have been a foreshock to a more powerful earthquake. They describe Bangladesh’s preparedness as critically inadequate, citing a lack of coordinated emergency planning, weak enforcement of building codes, and haphazard construction across the capital.
“There is no safe place anywhere in Dhaka, and the government has no preparedness or earthquake prevention plan,” said Ali Ahmed Khan, former director of the Fire Service and Civil Defence, urging immediate intervention to protect residents.
Md Abul Kalam Azad, assistant professor at the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies at the University of Dhaka, echoed the concerns.
He said public and institutional preparedness is “essentially non-existent,” compounded by overcrowding, obstructed roads, and poorly regulated development.
“The greatest risk in a major earthquake is building collapse. Most emergency exits and designated safe areas exist only on paper. There is virtually no space in the city for people to take shelter,” Azad warned.
On the operational front, Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Tajul Islam Chowdhury, director (Operations) at the Fire Service and Civil Defence, said the agency can deploy specialised response teams and draw on 55,000 active volunteers. However, he offered a sobering assessment of the scale of response needed during a major disaster.
“A catastrophic earthquake cannot be handled by a single force,” he said. “Operations would require all agencies, including the armed forces, working under permanent standard operating procedures. Roadways may become unusable, so air and water routes would be crucial.”
Former fire service chief Ali Ahmed Khan urged the government to act without delay. “If a severe earthquake hits, the Fire Service alone cannot manage. A National Operation Centre must be established immediately to coordinate multiple agencies with clear plans on who will do what, where, and how.”
