Background

Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to earthquake and other natural disasters because of her proximity to one of the tectonic plates, high population density, illiteracy, lack of resources etc. The country has also started to suffer as one of worst victims of the growing impacts of the global climate change. Natural disasters like earthquake, cyclone, storm surge, floods etc. frequently occur in this region. Against these backdrops, it is important to aggregate and foster the research activities in Bangladesh through a national conference. The Institute of Earthquake Engineering Research (IEER) and the Department of Disaster and Environmental Engineering (DEE) of Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), therefore, have initiated for the first time to arrange a day-long conference named as National Conference on Earthquake and Environmental Disasters (NCEED) to be held on December 17, 2015. It is expected that the discussions in this conference will extend beyond the traditional field of study of the behavior of structures subjected to earthquakes and other disasters. The meeting is principally aimed at identifying ways and means to limit the risk or vulnerability of civil infrastructures and the environment to socio-economically acceptable levels in Bangladesh.