All it takes is two minutes…

The couch shook, and we ran outside. However it went on and on, reportedly for two whole minutes and yet seemed like forever. Caught in the upper levels of an apartment building, we got the feel of the swaying even more.

It was reportedly one of the highest levels of earthquake experienced here in living memory. I have to admit that, scanning the news bulletins, we have been incredibly lucky. With the exception of some injuries and minor structural damages in some houses up in northern Bengal, we escaped unscathed.

Some time ago, I wrote a piece here called 'Are we ready for the big one?". The answer, unfortunately is still a resounding 'NO'. To talk of only of Dhaka, the highest concentration of the populace and roughly 10 percent of the entire population of Bangladesh, the city has grown organically, and not in a planned way. Access to basic services such as fire brigades is a far cry in many neighbourhoods. The alleys and gullies that permeate the city landscape would not have allowed the already inadequate numbers of rescue vehicles to reach their destinations. The Nimtali tragedy reminded us of our Achilles heel of rescues as sheer curiosity of people and the narrow roads hampered access of the fire brigade and ambulances in a major way.

Back in 1985, Mexico City was struck by earthquake. It was not a major one as afar as earthquakes go, since only small portion of the city was affected. However, 20,000 people were killed, majority of them instantly, and the rest slowly and painfully, caught under the rubbles.

The one close to Istanbul recently also had similar stories. Other than their own facilities, the close physical proximities to the US and the European Union helped. Rescue workers and their equipment arrived by the plane-loads within the day and made the impact of the disasters somewhat less.

After my two minutes of unwanted thrill last night, I shudder at the thought of what may have happened if the epicentre was closer to home or the scale was higher than 6.8. During the last major earthquake in the late 1800s, the dome of the Ahsan Manzil collapsed. Damages to the rest of the city were not well recorded.

We are already plagued by tilting buildings and sinking piles caused by faulty construction. I seriously doubt if the earthquake safety precautions in terms of design taken by our civil engineers are actually executed on site by the contractors. Unfortunately, it will take a major disaster to expose those flaws, but it will be too late by then.

Our sheer culture of complacency and lack of farsightedness is one major reason for the high amount of fatalities that will result if and when a major earthquake strikes. We are constantly being told that from geological terms, a major one is due. I asked my household staff to take shelter under the wooden dining table. They just looked at me in disbelief. Then I told them to run downstairs and stand out in the open, which they did. However, by that time, those two minutes were up, the tremors subsided and, to the relief of everyone, no chunks of bricks or concrete came flying down. As of inspection of the building this morning, I could not find any cracks that could be attributed to the earthquake.

Back in 1990, stuck in the 9th floor of an historic hotel in downtown Los Angeles, I remember the severity of a major earthquake. The bed shook so hard, I had fallen off. In the panic that ensued, instead of going down through the fire stairs, I had decided to go up instead. I wanted to be 'found' on top of the rubble should the building have collapsed. Later on, I was sternly lectured by the hotel crew for violating safety procedures.

When I did come down, the signs of damage were everywhere. There were gaping cracks on the walls, the decorative stucco had fallen off in places. Windows had shattered and had fallen on the sidewalks below. I was told that the building, during its last restoration, was structurally reinforced. Such damages were reported throughout, without any loss of life.

When concerns as such are raised here, the first neighbourhoods usually mentioned are in old Dhaka. But what about Karwan Bazaar, where high-rises have been erected literally touching each-other, or Khilgaon, or Banani? The domino effect caused by vibrations of buildings at such proximity is deadly, to say the least. The aftermath of fires caused by ruptured gas lines is another condition that we hardly think of in terms of earthquakes.

I hardly know of any high-rises in Dhaka that conduct any sort of safety drills. With the exception of a few posters and some talk shows, I have not seen any drive of any sort that will educate the masses of the dangers and safety precautions to be taken when such disaster strikes. The concern has to be about short-term rescue and long-term disaster planning.

The question is, who will take the initiative, when will it be taken, how will it be taken, and I don't see the point of asking 'why'? Isn't it obvious? It could have taken just two slow minutes to turn our lives upside down.

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MK Aaref is an architect. He studied architecture and urban planning at the University of Houston. Later, he specialised in privatisation during his MBA from Aston University, UK. He currently resides and practices in Dhaka.