They said the recent earthquake in Pakistan and tsunami in the Western Bay of Bengal are the warnings for Bangladesh.

The roundtable was organised by Volunteers Against Disaster (VAD) in association with the Disaster Research Training Management Centre of Dhaka University (DU) at the auditorium of geography and environment department.

The speakers said there are a few geological faults that can cause strong earthquakes in the country. One of them is Dauki fault at the bordering area of Sylhet-Meghalaya and the other one is Sitakunda-Teknaf fault at Chittagong coastal area.

There are many seismic faults in the plains around Dhaka and Chittagong Hill Tracts, which can cause earthquakes, said Geology Prof Syed Humayun Aktar.

"No earthquakes occurred in these faults for many years, which means huge strength has gathered underground that could cause serious earthquakes in Bangladesh and its neighbouring areas any time," he said.

Humayun Aktar said there is a long 600 kilometer seismic gap (that indicates possibility of earthquake) stretching from the Andaman Islands of the Bay of Bengal to Teknaf where there is no record of earthquake.

"This is a great threat which could cause a strong earthquake measuring 8 in Richter Scale in Bangladesh, and turn into tsunami if the earthquake occurs under the Bay of Bengal," he warned.

Humayun Aktar said such tsunamis will directly hit Orissa of India, West Bengal and the total coastal belt of Bangladesh.

"As our coastal belt is only 750 km away from Teknaf-Andaman seismic gap, it will take only one and a half hours to destroy coastal localities," he added.

Humayun Aktar said if earthquakes with a magnitude of 7 occur in Bangladesh or in Meghalaya, Assam, Monipur, and Mijoram of India and at the bordering area of Myanmar, those will cause huge loss of life and property in the country.

Mir Fazlul Karim, director of Geological Survey of Bangladesh, said, “The 200 km long continental shelf is susceptible to earthquakes and landslides or slump failures along the margins. These locations are extremely potential for generation of local tsunamis, which are more destructive than the regional tsunamis."

He suggested development of a rapid seismic observatory system including hydro-acoustic sensors, sea height buoys and modern tide gauges as an integral part of early warning system for tsunami.

Md Abu Sadek, director general of Disaster Management Bureau, said the Building Code, now being reviewed, should incorporate the issue of earthquake as well as its strict implementation.

"We spend huge money for post-disaster management, but I think a portion of it should be spent on researches," he added.

Dr Ashraf Mahmud Dewan, assistant professor of geography and environment science department of DU, suggested that all organisations concerned have to share earthquake and tsunami-related information and create mass awareness among the people.

Dean of Science Faculty Prof RIM Aminur Rashid, Prof Abdur Rab, Prof Hafiza Khatun, Prof Nurul Islam Nazem, Prof Aftab Alam Khan, Deputy Director of Meteorological Department Arjumand Habib and Dr Aslam Alam of Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme of Ministry of Food and Disaster Management also spoke at the roundtable moderated by Prof Jamal Khan.