The buildings constructed with high-weight bricks are highly vulnerable to earthquake, says a seismic expert here on Sunday.

“If the weight of building increases, its vulnerability to earthquake goes up,” dean of the Earth and Environmental Science Faculty at Dhaka University Dr ASM Maksud Kamal told a seminar.

He said low-weight bricks must be used in constructing buildings in the country to minimise weight of buildings, or else, it will be quite impossible to minimise the risk of tremor in urban context.

The Department of Disaster Science and Management, DU, and Curzon Hall Environment Club jointly organised the daylong seminar on earthquake risk management at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban on the campus.

Prof Maksud Kamal said Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to earthquake due to its geographical location, but the country lags behind in taking preparedness to tackle the earthquake aftermath.

“If we invest one dollar in mitigation of earthquake risk, we’ll be able to save US$ 10 in management and rehabilitation of the disaster,” he added.

A study conducted by the government’s Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP) in 2010 revealed that some 78,323 buildings will be destroyed completely if a 6-magnitude earthquake shakes Dhaka, causing havoc throughout the densely populated capital city.

In case of a 7.5-magnitude earthquake from Madhupur Fault, some 72,316 buildings will be damaged totally - while an estimated 53,166 will be partially destroyed. If an 8.5-magnitude tremor from the plate boundary of Fault-2 hits the region, some 238,164 buildings will be destroyed completely across the country.

Former director of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) Dr Kazi Nasrin Farooque and chairman of the DU’s Soil, Water and Environment Prof AHM Mustafizur Rahman also spoke at the inaugural session of the workshop.