The New Nation - Internet Edition

Our Correspondent, Chittagong

Speakers at a seminar on 'Tsunami Disaster & Its Impact on Bangladesh' on Wednesday emphasized need for creating greater awareness among the people of coastal belts and suggested coordinated efforts to reduce the havoc.

Earmarking Chittagong - Teknaf coast as high-risk zone for Tsunami, they said that people had no control on the calamities like tsunami therefore mass awareness and coordinated efforts would be only weapon to fight it successfully.

The experts urged the authority concerned to incorporate tsunami and five relevant sources of mass destruction - earthquake, landslide, meteorites, explosions and volcanic eruption - in the text books of secondary and higher secondary classes so that awareness building be paced further.

Bornaly, a Chittagong based development organization, hosted the seminar at Hotel Al Faisal International Limited where research officer of Barnaly Mohammad Abdur Rahman Rana presented the keynote paper. President of the Bornaly Soroj Kanti Das presided over the seminar.

Mohammad Najmul Haque, Director, Directorate of Environment, Chittagong joined the seminar as chief guest while Secretary of Chittagong District unit of Bangladesh Red Crescent Society Mohammad Abdul Awal Chowdhury addressed it as special guest. Chairman of Geography Department of Chittagong University Abdul Haque, Professor Jahangir Alam, Professor Idris Ali and Dr. Sahid Ul Islam among other discussed it.

Mohammad Najmul Haque, chief guest in the seminar said that Meteorology Department of the government should be more active and accurate in giving cautionary signal so that necessary steps can be taken in perfect time.

He put emphasis on building of Tsunami shelters in right places across the country in coordination with local organizations and considering risk.

Research Officer of the Bornaly, Mohammad Abdur Rahman Rana in his keynote paper mentioned that the usual velocity of the tsunami waves had been more or less 550 miles per hour in the open ocean. The time span between successive waves varies from 5 to 90 minutes. He also said that tsunami wave might be as high as 12 meters.

The northern Bay of Bengal had long been out of danger zone for the large earthquakes that caused from clashing of tectonic plates pushing the seabed up, the keynote paper said.