Dhaka’s earthquake gamble

Retrofitting buildings, enforcing strict construction laws and other safety measures could save lives.

If Dhaka were a person, it would be that overconfident pedestrian jaywalking across the highway—blind to danger, immune to consequence, and utterly convinced that trucks will swerve in time. But nature doesn't believe in last-minute swerves. Nature, like a strict schoolmaster, has a way of reminding cities that arrogance has a price. And Dhaka, with its labyrinth of high-rises, its tangled mess of traffic, and its people who live life with an enviable mix of bliss and oblivion, stands precariously on the edge of a seismic disaster.