Modeling on management strategies for spatial assessment of earthquake disaster vulnerability in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper explores sustainable management strategies for mitigation destructive geological disaster earthquake spatial susceptibility in Bangladesh, is located south piedmont plain of Himalaya mountain ranges in South Asia. During the contemporary time, earthquake is regarded as most destructive geological disaster due to its devastating impact on physical environment, socio-economic infrastructure, people’s lives, livelihood and biodiversity of the world. In Bangladesh, earthquake destruction vulnerability is the results of two major factors natural (geological formation, plate tectonic framework, plate margin, geographical location, location of fault and fold) and human intervention (tremendous increase of population, construction of multi-storied concrete building in urban environment, rapid growth of urbanization and industrialization). Both physical and manmade factors accelerated extreme earthquake disaster which impacts on sustainable life style and livelihood patterns of poor peoples as a developing nation Bangladesh of the world. To ensure sustainable management strategies of earthquake spatial susceptibility, the aim of this paper is selected to access earthquakes susceptibility using geostatistical modeling for producing detailed risk to support mitigation approach of earthquakes in present and future in Bangladesh. For this study, almost 94 earthquakes samples are collected from Google Earth during the time period (1961–2018) in inland Bangladesh. In this study, spatial susceptibility map developed by applying geostatistical models with GIS approach which based on earthquakes magnitude (Richter scale) and focus depth (km). Predictive spatial earthquake susceptibility map and risk estimation process will help geologist, geomorphologist, environmental engineers, urban planner, government and non-government organizations for vulnerability assessment including structural (settlement planning, building materials and building code development) and nonstructural mitigation (disaster preparedness approach: pre-disaster, during disaster and post-disaster), spatial risk estimation, disaster crisis and conflict mitigation, relief distribution at national and global level.