Bangladesh forms national task force to direct earthquake risk management

The Government of Bangladesh has constituted a National Earthquake Risk Management Task Force, chaired by the Prime Minister, to direct seismic preparedness and mitigation nationwide. The decision is set out in a notification of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief dated 12 Bhadra 1433 / 27 August 2026 and published in The Bangladesh Gazette of 17 September 2026 under reference 51.00.0000.322.06.006.16 (Ask-1).197. The body has 15 members, among them the ministers of finance, home affairs, housing and public works, health and family welfare, and disaster management and relief.

The notification records that on 29 July 2026 a meeting on earthquake risk management was held at the Cabinet Division under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, who gave several directives on the subject and expressed his consent to the creation of a national task force. The task force was accordingly constituted as part of urban disaster risk reduction, to provide the necessary guidance on earthquake risk management. The instrument is issued by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (Disaster Management-1 Branch) and signed by Mohammad Nasir Uddin, Deputy Secretary (Disaster-1), by order of the President.

The notice appears in Part I of The Bangladesh Gazette, issue No. 38 of 2026, dated Thursday 17 September 2026, the official register of legislative and administrative instruments of the Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.

Composition of the task force

The task force is chaired by the Prime Minister and brings together eight ministers and one state minister, the Cabinet Secretary, the Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, two university department heads and a civil-society representative:

• Chairman: the Prime Minister, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
• Minister, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives.
• Minister, Ministry of Finance.
• Minister, Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Minister, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
• Minister, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
• Minister, Ministry of Housing and Public Works.
• Minister, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• State Minister, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
• Cabinet Secretary, Cabinet Division.
• Principal Staff Officer, Armed Forces Division.
• Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka.
• Head of the Department of Geology, University of Dhaka.
• A representative of civil society.
• Secretary, Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (Member-Secretary).

Meetings and working rules

The notification lays down how the task force will operate:

• Meetings are to be held at the place and time fixed by the chair.
• At least two meetings must be held every year, though the task force may convene at any time if required.
• The committee may co-opt any relevant person as a member, or invite that person to attend its meetings.

Mandate

The task force’s stated responsibility is to provide the necessary guidance on earthquake risk management. The notification places the body within the framework of urban disaster risk reduction, giving it a standing role in directing seismic preparedness and mitigation across ministries and agencies.

For readers in a country exposed to seismic risk, a task force chaired by the Prime Minister and including the finance, home, housing, health and disaster management portfolios signals that earthquake preparedness is being raised to the highest level of executive coordination. The instrument takes effect as an official order of the Government of Bangladesh published in The Bangladesh Gazette of 17 September 2026.

Source: The Bangladesh Gazette, No. 38 of 2026, 17 September 2026, Part I, p. 818 (official reference: 51.00.0000.322.06.006.16 (Ask-1).197).