Editor’s Note

Recent tremors have done more than shake the ground. They have unsettled assumptions we quietly live with, especially the belief that safety is something to think about later. Earthquakes arrive without warning, but the risks they expose are often years in the making.

This issue turns its focus to that reality, not with alarmism, but with purpose. Bangladesh has always lived with uncertainty. Floods, storms, and shifting grounds are part of our geography and history. What is changing is awareness. More people are asking direct questions about building safety, construction quality and responsibility. That shift matters, because resilience is not created during a disaster. It is built long before one.

Across these pages, we look at earthquake preparedness as a practical, everyday concern. From understanding how buildings are designed to absorb seismic stress to recognising the warning signs of weak construction, the aim is to replace fear with clarity. Safety should not feel technical or out of reach. It should feel knowable.

There is reason for cautious optimism. Building codes have improved. Engineering practices are evolving. Conversations that once stayed within professional circles are reaching homeowners and residents. These are small but important steps toward a safer urban future.

Resilience is not about predicting the next quake. It is about making better choices now, as individuals, as builders, and as a society. Choices that favour durability over shortcuts, documentation over assumptions, and accountability over convenience.

The ground may shift again. What matters is how prepared we are when it does.