Campaign on earthquake preparedness launched
UNB
The government yesterday launched a national awareness campaign on earthquake preparedness in the capital to make people aware of the risks of major earthquakes and learn from other countries how they are dealing with the issue to minimise risks, reports UNB.
Now our main responsibility is to raise public awareness and inform the society about the risks of major earthquake focusing on the communities and households level, said Md Shah Kamal, Secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) at the launching of the campaign at Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB).
We need to teach them the experiences and lessons learned from other countries on Earthquake preparedness, Kamal said.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) in association with UNDP has launched the campaign.
The event was also attended by Additional Secretary, MoDMR Satyabrata Saha,; Director General, Department of Disaster (DDM) Riaz Ahmed and Country Director, UNDP Bangladesh. The campaign was launched in response to numerous recent studies that give evidence of Bangladesh being located on a high-risk zone which is prone to massive earthquakes.
This combined with the low level national awareness that emerged in the wake of the frequent earthquakes felt in the last few years proved the time is ripe for such a campaign to be of maximum effect.
A number of initiatives for building capacity and raising awareness on earthquake preparedness have already been implemented in the last decade, but the practical experience and science backed preparedness given the current context need to be included.
UNDP has planned to assist the MoDMR to develop an integrated and standardised communication strategy with Bitopi Leo Burnett as the creative partner for the campaign. A branded caravan to raise awareness among the students, prepared with the messages will be roaming around conducting road shows at various schools and colleges of Dhaka, Gazipur, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Comilla, Noakhali and Chittagong starting from Thursday (January 19).
