Building codes must be enforced, particularly in seismically active regions in South Asia, says the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
NEW DELHI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The deaths of more than 300 people after a textile factory collapsed in Bangladesh highlight the danger of poorly enforced building codes in earthquake-prone towns and cities as well as the devastating impact of disasters, the United Nations said.
At least 304 people, mainly female workers, were killed and more than 1,000 injured when the eight-storey Rana Plaza garment factory building in Savar, 30 km (20 miles) outside the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, collapsed on Wednesday.
"As we know from earthquakes, buildings kill more people than anything else," said Margareta Wahlstrom, head of the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
"The rapid pace of urbanisation around the world means that sub-standard construction work is not just a problem in Bangladesh. More people are living in seismic zones than ever before," she added in a statement.
South Asia, home to one fifth of humanity, is one of the most quake-prone regions in the world. Six out of eight countries – India, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan – are located within the seismically active Himalayan-Hindukush belt.
The region suffers around 100,000 minor quakes every year and one of magnitude 8 or greater every 25 years. The last earthquake in the region was in Pakistan in 2005, measuring 7.6 and killing more than 73,000 people.
SHODDY CONSTRUCTION
As a result, many populous cities in the region such as Dhaka, New Delhi, Kathmandu and Islamabad sit in high-risk seismic zones.
But an economic boom over the last two decades has seen the rapid, unregulated construction of malls, office blocks, apartment towers and private homes – most of which do not adhere to adequate safety standards, despite the existence of building codes.
In parts of many cities, decrepit buildings packed tightly together line narrow, crowded streets, waiting to crumble onto the traders and shoppers below.
Experts say buildings like hospitals and schools need to be retrofitted to make them earthquake-safe. They cite the 2005 Pakistan quake, in which 17,000 children were killed when school roofs and walls collapsed.
Few of South Asia's metropolitan centres have open spaces, meaning there is nowhere to seek refuge if buildings collapse while in some cities, tower blocks have been built on the flood planes of rivers and would cave in if there were a major tremor, experts add.
The UNISDR says over six billion people will be living in urban areas by 2050, up from 3.5 million today, and it is calling for safer construction in towns and cities across the world.
"We can prevent many tragedies if we invest with care in new urban developments and public safety while raising awareness and commitment by citizens, business communities as well as the construction industry," said Wahlstrom.
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