The New Nation - Internet Edition

Capital City Dhaka and some other towns of the country experienced a jolt on Saturday mid-night. Its magnitude was 5.6 on the Richter Scale. During this mid-night jot a good number of people, particularly some students of Dhaka University became injured in panic/fear syndrome.

However, luckily there occurred no major damages to lives and properties. Maybe it was just a warning from the nature's side.

Met-experts have suggested that there may be a second jolt (of higher intensity) in the near future. That is, now we are under a potential threat of a severe earthquake in the coming days.

This is a natural phenomenon and no body can resist or stop it. But what worries me much is our lack (at all levels) of anti-disaster preparedness. It is really unthinkable what could be the extent and volume of damages - in terms of lives and properties - if the Richter Scale records 6 plus magnitude jolt.

It is high time to make National Disaster Preparedness Action Plan now or else the consequential cost would be too high.

Kalpana Chowdhury

Azimpur, Dhaka