Sylhet City Corporation has sealed off 24 vulnerable buildings for 10 days after five earthquakes shook the region in two days, leading one of the buildings to tilt, reports bdnews24.com.
Mayor Ariful Haque Choudhury said they decided to seal off the buildings as a precaution after a drive on the buildings on Sunday afternoon following the last quake in the morning.
Experts said a huge earthquake may strike a region within seven to 10 days from mild tremors, according to him.
Specialists from the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology flagged 35 buildings as vulnerable in 2005. They included 23 sealed off on Sunday. Some of the other buildings were demolished.
The other building began slanting sideways after the tremors on Saturday. The residents of the flats in the six-storey residential bloc were evacuated on Sunday.
The other vulnerable buildings house markets, shops, residential flats and government offices.
Bidhayak Roy Chowdhury, CEO of Sylhet City Corporation, said the owners and residents had not evacuated the buildings earlier despite reminders.
“The city corporation will take tough action over the vulnerable buildings now.”
