PSTU seismograph fails to read Sunday's earthquake

The seismograph on Patuakhali Science and Technology University campus, meant for measurement and recording of earthquake in the country's southern region, failed to give any information about the tremor that jolted the country on Sunday evening, as the computer connected to it did not display any reading due to 'complexity' in the operating system.Photo: STAROur Correspondent, Patuakhali

The lone seismograph in the country's southern region, set up at Patuakhali Science and Technology University (PSTU) campus, failed to provide information about the earthquake that rocked the country on Sunday evening, due to 'system complexity' in the computer connected to it.

Many people including local journalists approached there to have information and clear picture about the Sunday's earthquake but the persons concerned failed to deliver it.

The seismograph was set up on PSTU campus on May 27 in 2006 under an agreement with Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University in USA for measurement of earthquakes in the southern region of Bangladesh, PSTU sources said.

Owon Eyong Kin, professor of Columbia University and an international expert on earthquake, formally opened the instrument. During the inauguration, a computer taken from the computer laboratory of PSTU was connected with the seismograph to have the reading from it.

But shortly after the inaugural session, the computer was shifted to the laboratory and the device remained inactive for long.

Later on January 10 in 2010, PSTU authority set up the tool in an underground compartment and connected a computer to make it functional.

Md Monibur Rahman, monitoring officer of the device, said a couple of teachers of the university received relevant training from the geology department of Dhaka University (DU) in this regard and they are monitoring the instrument by rotation.

"We are operating it as per directives from Dr Syed Humayun Akhter, chief superintendent of earthquake research under geology department of Dkaha University. But the machine could not display on the computer necessary data about Sunday's earthquake due to system complexity," he said.

"The tool runs with Linux system but the computer runs with XP system. And so, data that is collected in Linux system could not be displayed in XP system," he added.

Kamrul Hasan, assistant professor of computer science and engineering of PSTU, said, "This seismograph is linked with the mother seismograph at Dhaka University that delivers data collected from the machine. We are our trying our best to solve the system complexity problem to make the machine operative."