Photo: Collected
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed that the national building code be followed in construction, that risky and old buildings be identified, and that the capacity for rapid rescue operations in emergencies be increased.
He also instructed those concerned to strengthen advance preparedness to handle the potential risk of earthquakes, identify risky buildings and boost the capacity for emergency rescue operations.
A meeting on earthquake preparedness and the steps to be taken was held today (Monday) at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Secretariat. The prime minister gave these directives there.
The prime minister’s deputy press secretary, Hasan Shiplu, disclosed the matter.
At the meeting, Tarique Rahman stressed adopting a coordinated action plan to ensure people’s safety in earthquake-prone areas of the country, including the capital Dhaka.
He said effective coordination among all the ministries concerned, local government institutions, RAJUK, the fire service and other emergency service agencies is very important to reduce loss of life and damage in natural disasters such as earthquakes.
The prime minister also asked for attention to the safety of important establishments including hospitals and educational institutions, keeping adequate rescue equipment, training rescue workers and raising public awareness about earthquakes.
Present at the meeting were Disaster Management and Relief Minister Asadul Habib Dulu, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam, Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) Chairman Engineer Riazul Islam Riju, and senior officials of the ministries and agencies concerned.
Background
According to the Meteorological Department’s seismic observatory, an earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale struck at 10:38am on 21 November 2025, with its epicentre 13 kilometres from Dhaka. The US Geological Survey (USGS) put its magnitude at 5.5 and said the epicentre was about 14 kilometres west-southwest of Narsingdi — bdnews24.com published this information the same day.
According to a report by The Daily Star Bangla on 29 November 2025, at least 10 people died in Dhaka, Narsingdi and Narayanganj in that earthquake, more than a hundred were injured and about 300 buildings were damaged in the RAJUK area.
By the numbers
According to a RAJUK estimate, an earthquake of magnitude 6.9 could cause about 8 lakh 65 thousand buildings to collapse in Dhaka and kill about 2 lakh 10 thousand people — The Daily Star Bangla reported this on 29 November 2025.
A survey under RAJUK’s Urban Resilience Project carried out rapid visual assessments of 3,252 buildings. Of the 579 buildings that underwent preliminary engineering assessment, 42 were identified as very high-risk and recommended for demolition — Prothom Alo published this information on 11 March 2023.
At a glance
According to a report by The Daily Star Bangla on 29 November 2025, five years have passed since the revised Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC-2020) was published in the gazette. The code provides for forming the Bangladesh Building Regulatory Authority (BBRA) to oversee buildings, fire and earthquake resilience, and the quality of construction materials. However, the authority had not been formed as of the time that report was published.
Sources
Original report: Ajker Patrika
Background sources: bdnews24.com, 21 November 2025; The Daily Star Bangla, 29 November 2025; Prothom Alo, 11 March 2023
