Dhaka, Nov. 25 -- From the bustling streets of Dhaka to the quiet fields of Narsingdi, Friday's 5.7-magnitude earthquake sent shockwaves through Bangladesh in more ways than one.

Across the nation, instinctive panic eclipsed preparation. In the stampede to get out -- down stairwells, off balconies, and in some cases by leaping from upper floors -- hundreds were injured, several of them gravely, exposing a stark truth: the country remains unready for seismic disasters.

For years, repeated warnings from geologists and disaster experts have collided with government assurances of "initiatives" and "programmes" designed to educate and protect the public. Yet when the earth trembled violently, these promises proved largely symbolic.

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