Land developers are filling low-lying lands around Dhaka city for the construction of buildings without applying earthquake resisting measures, speakers at a seminar said yesterday. The developers are also not following the National Building Code while filling the low-lying lands, they added. "We need to update the National Building Code, which should feature the latest developments in earthquake-resistant design," Communication Adviser Maj Gen (retd) Ghulam Quader said as the chief guest. He also stressed the need to enact laws requiring the land development agencies to consider site amplification, landslide and soil liquefaction issues during the construction. Bangladesh Earthquake Society and Engineering Staff College, Bangladesh jointly organised the seminar titled 'Recent earthquakes in Bangladesh' at the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) conference room in the city. Prof Jamilur Reza Choudhury, vice chancellor of Brac University, said many low-lying lands surrounding Dhaka city are being filled up by developers without proper precautions to ensure strong foundation, resulting in an increase in the vulnerability of any structure on such lands to earthquake damage. Prof Mehedi Ahmed Ansary of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology gave a PowerPoint presentation on recent earthquakes in Bangladesh. He said that poor soil at Jagannath Hall of Dhaka University caused more vibration of its building than other places in the capital during the recent earthquake. He urged the developers to develop soil capacity before constructing any structures on low-lying lands