Earthquakes and Our Preparedness

11/21/2016
EARTHQUAKESANDOURPREPAREDNESS|TheDailyStar
EARTHQUAKES AND OUR

PREPAREDNESS
Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, BUET,
Bangladesh November 16, 2016
In the recent past, Bangladesh has not suffered any damaging large
earthquakes, but in the past few hundred years, several large catastrophic
earthquakes struck this area. So far, all the major recent earthquakes have
occurred away from major cities, and have affected relatively sparsely
populated areas. This has limited the human casualty and the economic
losses. However, the 1993 Killari, 2001 Gujarat and 2005 Kashmir
earthquakes in India and Pakistan has amply demonstrated that
inappropriate construction technology may lead to high casualty levels
even for moderate earthquakes.
http://www.thedailystar.net/environment/earthquakesandourpreparedness1315231
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In 1897, an earthquake of magnitude 8.7 caused serious damages to

buildings in the northeastern part of India (including Bangladesh) and
1542 people were killed. Recently, Berryman et al. (2014) pointed out that
there is high possibility that a huge earthquake will occur around the
Himalayan region based on the difference between energy accumulation in
this region and historical earthquake occurrence (see Figure 1). More
recently, Steckler et al. (2016) suggested that the presence of a locked mega
thrust plate boundary under the Indo-Burman ranges represents an
underappreciated hazard in one of the most densely populated regions of
the world (see Figure 2). The population increase around this region is at
least 50 times than the population of 1897 and cities like Dhaka, Chittagong,
Kathmandu, Guwahati, Thimpu have population exceeding several
millions. It is a cause for great concern that the next great earthquake may
occur in this region at any time.
Figure 1: Synopsis of historical and paleoseismic history

along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust
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Figure 1: Synopsis of historical and paleoseismic history along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust
(HFT) [after Berryman et al., 2014]
A strong earthquake affecting major urban centres like Dhaka, Chittagong,

Sylhet may result in damage and destruction of massive proportions and
may have very severe long-term consequences for the entire country. After
the 1971 independence, most major urban centres of Bangladesh have
grown tremendously due to unabated migration from the smaller towns
and rural areas. As a result, the cities have developed in haphazard fashion
with little consideration for proper town-planning norms. There is,
consequently, a need to be prepared against all possible natural and manmade disasters that are likely to occur in Bangladesh. For this purpose, it is
essential to have realistic understanding of the consequences of likely
damage in major cities due to different disasters. This will permit rational
planning of mitigation efforts in order to minimise effects of these
disasters.
Figure 2: Topographic map of the GangesBrahmaputra Delta and Indo-Burman Fold belt
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Figure 2: Topographic map of the GangesBrahmaputra Delta and Indo-Burman Fold belt
showing GPS velocities (after Steckler et al., 2016)
The extent of damage to structures and casualty level due to an earthquake

in the future can be reduced by the introduction of suitable mitigation
measures. These mitigation measures can be categorized as structural
and/or non-structural. The structural measures are those that directly
influence the performance of building stock through strengthening of code
provisions and the prevalent construction practice. Incorporating the
appropriate structural mitigation measures can reduce the vulnerability of
any building type. The non-structural mitigation measures include
improvement in the state of awareness and preparedness before a disaster,
land-use control and other government policies, and the infrastructure
related to response following a disaster. The non-structural measures help
to reduce the severity of casualty levels following an earthquake. In order
to reduce the consequences of a major earthquake in the cities of
Bangladesh, it is necessary that appropriate structural as well as nonstructural measures be undertaken.
Berryman, K., W. Ries, N. Litchfield, 2014. The Himalayan Frontal Thrust:
Attributes for seismic hazard, Report produced in the context of the GEM
Faulted Earth Project.
Steckler, M., Dhiman Ranjan Mondal, Syed Humayun Akhter, Leonardo
Seeber, Lujia Feng, Jonathan Gale, Emma M. Hill and Michael Howe 2016.
Locked and loading mega thrust linked to active subduction beneath the
Indo-Burman Ranges, Nature Geoscience July 2016.
Ensuring quality in construction is key
Sarwar A Chowdhury
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Manwar Hossain, Group Managing

Director of Anwar Group of Industries
Anwar Group of Industries plans to go for massive expansion in its

building material manufacturing units to meet the growing demand for
quality construction products that are resistant to earthquakes.
There was a time when many were producing substandard products
such as low quality cement and steel in Bangladesh. But those days are
gone.
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As competition started building up, competency also started building up

and the competition leads us to better products and quality, and we are
now producing world class cement and steel, said Manwar Hossain, group
managing director of Anwar Group of Industries.
Given the quality improvement in these two major ingredients of
constructions, he does not think that an earthquake will create massive
damage in Bangladesh.
He however said still there are some manufacturers who are producing
substandard products by using low quality raw materials. From our
association we can only request them not to produce substandard
products. But we are not authority. So, the authority should look into the
matter, he said.
Hossain was sharing his views and future plans on the group's building
materials division at an interview with The Daily Star recently.
The building materials division of Anwar Group has been dominating the
construction industry for the last four decades with a diversified product
mix, ranging from cement and cement sheet to mild steel bars, high
strength deformed bars, galvanised sheet, uPVC pipe and fittings, and
electrical cables.
The group's Anwar Cement now has the production capacity of around
1,250 tonnes per day. We are planning to almost treble the capacity to
3,000 tonnes per day by December this year, Hossain said adding that
approximate Tk 200 crore will be invested for the expansion project.
Anwar Cement also plans to carry out BMRE (balancing, modernisation,
rehabilitation and expansion) in its cement sheet manufacturing unit to
increase the production capacity by 25 percent.
Presently, it has production capacity of 7,000 tonnes cement sheet a month
that will reach to around 9,500 tonnes after the BMRE, which will be
completed by February next year.
Popularity of cement corrugated sheet is increasing gradually as it is long
lasting. The major feature of this item is it reduces the temperature in
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summer and increases the temperature in winter, said Hossain.

Anwar Ispat is another building material manufacturing unit that produces
graded rods from billets. The existing production capacity of Anwar Ispat is
now around 14,000 tonnes per month that will be increased to 30,000
tonnes per month by January next year.
Around Tk 300 crore will be invested for the expansion, said Hossain, who
joined the family owned business group in 1993 soon after completing his
MBA from University of New Hampshire, USA.
After expansion, the plant will be a state-of-the-art one and it can be run
by a remote control even through a mobile phone. We will be the first one
to run such a sophisticated technology, which is a mix of German and
Italian, he said.
A-One Polymer, another entity of Anwar Group, produces premium grade
uPVC pipe, fittings, Teflon tape and other plumbing products. The unit is
recording over 30 percent growth during the last 3-4 years.
But we cannot tap the full potential due to unavailability of gas and
electricity, Hossain said adding that they will focus on optimising the
existing production capacity in A-One for next two years. Then we will go
for expansion and diversification.
About the economy, he said the economy is going well. Contribution of
rural economy is increasing and also playing a big role in the economic
progress.
The remittance or the wage earners' contribution is playing the leading
role in the rural economy. The non-resident Bangladeshis should be given
proper recognition and respect, he said.
However, he said, the infrastructure weakness still remains as the major
barrier for investment in the country.
Bureaucracy and bureaucratic attitude towards industrialists is another
major obstacle. Rifts between bureaucrats and industrialists are widening
gradually, instead of narrow downing it, he said.
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A friendly business environment is not creating due the superiority

attitude of bureaucrats towards the businessmen, he said adding that the
mindset should be changed.
Anwar Group, which employees around 12,000 people, also carries out CSR
(corporate social responsibility) programmes through Anwar Group
Foundation on child education, women health, health and housing to the
poor.
Better ingredients, better safety
Sarwar A Chowdhury
Md Ashfakul Islam, Head of Market Research and

Development wing
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Development wing
KSRM, a Chittagong-based leading steel maker, plans to double its

production capacity by setting up its maiden billet manufacturing unit, as
the demand for quality rods is increasing.
We are going to run an overhaul in our factory. After completion of the
overhauling that may take some 20 days, we will go for installation of the
billet production unit, said Md Ashfakul Islam, head of market research
and development wing.
KSRM now produces rod from imported billets. It is expecting to start the
production of billet, a raw material for steel and steel products, by
December this year. Our production capacity will be doubled then, he
said.
The steel maker, which factory is located in Sitakunda of the port city, now
produces 4.5 lakh tonnes of graded rods per annum. After billet
production, the total capacity will reach to 7.5 to 8 lakh tonnes per year.
Billet, formally known as bar stock, is a common form of raw purified
metal, which after processing gives way to steel that can be sold on in
markets.
Steel, rod and steel products manufactured from billet is the best, as it
maintains the yield strength of the products, Islam said.
Asked about the investment for the new project, he said it can be estimated
after the factory overhauling.
He was sharing his views and future plans of the company at an interview
with The Daily Star recently.
People are looking for graded and quality rod, which is an essential
material in the construction industry as well resistant to earthquakes, he
said.
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However, he said, it's not only the steel or steel product to resist the impact
of earthquakes. It's the totality; perfect and accurate combination of each
materials that will be used for construction, he said.
For example, steel and concrete mixtures both are equally responsible for
a good and strong structure. Any weakness in any of the two ingredients
may make the structure vulnerable, he cited.
Engineers' expertise, proper design and implementation, and supervision
are also responsible for good and strong structure that can be resistant to
earthquakes, he said.
If the demand for quality product is not increasing, we may not expand
our businesses, he said, adding that Bangladesh's per capita steel
consumption is only around 30kg, which is one of the lowest in the world.
Per capita steel consumption in India is over 55kg and in European
countries it is more than 300kg, he cited.
KSRM, an entity of Kabir Group of Industries, started its journey in 1984
under the name of Kabir Steel. Since then it was producing 40 grade rods
from ship breaking scraps. It started production of 60 grade rods in 2003
and 500W rod in 2008 from imported billets.
It is now one of the largest rolling mills in Bangladesh with a market share
of around 30 percent. The company employs around 1,200 people.
The local requirement for steel in Bangladesh is around 40 lakh tonnes per
year.
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11/21/2016

EARTHQUAKES AND OUR

In 1897, an earthquake of magnitude 8.7 caused serious damages to

Figure 1: Synopsis of historical and paleoseismic history

along the Himalayan Frontal Thrust

A strong earthquake affecting major urban centres like Dhaka, Chittagong,

The extent of damage to structures and casualty level due to an earthquake

Manwar Hossain, Group Managing

Anwar Group of Industries plans to go for massive expansion in its

As competition started building up, competency also started building up

summer and increases the temperature in winter, said Hossain.

A friendly business environment is not creating due the superiority

Md Ashfakul Islam, Head of Market Research and

KSRM, a Chittagong-based leading steel maker, plans to double its

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