Approximately 1,37,000 people and 1,68,000 buildings will likely perish in Chattogram city if an earthquake of 7.5 to 8.5 magnitude hits the Bangladeh-Myanmar border, said speakers at a seminar in port city yesterday. 

Speaking at the event, Prof Md Jahangir Alam, vice-chancellor of  University Of Science & Technology Chattogram, said the seismic activity of Bangladesh has shown that even an earthquake of medium magnitude can cause havoc in major cities of the country, particularly Dhaka, Sylhet, and Chittagong.

A keynote paper at the workshop mentioned, "Chattogram city houses the main sea port of the country, along with being the economic centre of the country, therefore, there must be a coordinated effort to protect the city and its people."

The paper mentioned that approximately 200,000 buildings of the city do not conform to Bangladesh National Building Code (BNBC) standard.