Fortified concrete columns must for collapse resistant buildings

The concrete columns of buildings must be fortified to make high-rises resistant to collapse from earthquakes, said Dr Shamim Z Basunia, president of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh in a seminar in the capital yesterday.
Technologies like ferrocement -- a cement and iron rod overlay-- can be used in to laminate the columns, said the experts present at the seminar held at the housing and public works ministry.
"The column width must be made at least 12 inches wide. Even the American embassy building falls short by having only 10 inch wide columns," stated Dr Basunia.
“Buildings with parking lots in ground floors are in a greater risk of collapse in the case of an earthquake because they are plagued by the 'soft storey' problem, where the lower floor is less stiff than the ones above it,” he added.
Mohammad Abu Sadek, director of Housing and Building Research Institute, explained that a lack of adequate brick inlay can cause upper storeys to collapse on the ground floor.
In addition, nearly half of the buildings in Dhaka city will be affected if an earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale of a sufficient duration strikes the city, said Dr Basunia.
The seminar also discussed about implementing housing technologies which are resistant to other forms of natural disasters.
As examples of such technologies, Mubassher Hussain, president of Institute of Architects Bangladesh, mentioned floating houses for flood-prone areas, houses elevated on stilts for protection from tidal waves, and pre-manufactured houses which can be dismantled and moved to a different location, for areas which suffer from river erosion.
State Minister for Housing and Public Works Abdul Mannan Khan stated that government organisations like Housing and Building Research Institute, which develops disaster-prone technologies, are some of the most neglected organisations.
Dr Khondokar Showkat Hossain, secretary of housing and public works, and Mohammad Kabir Ahmed Bhuiyan, chief engineer of public works department, among others, spoke at the seminar.