Earthquake, epicentre in Bangladesh this time

Just within seven days, another earthquake was felt in the country today, Sunday, shortly after 12:30 pm. The tremor was experienced in the Sylhet region, with its epicentre in Chhatak, also in Sylhet. The quake measured 4.0 on the Richter scale.

Earlier, on Sunday, 14 September, an earthquake had been felt in Dhaka and other parts of the country, though that epicentre was in Indian state of Assam. That earthquake was 5.9 in magnitude.

Md Rubaiyat Kabir, acting officer at the Earthquake Monitoring and Research Centre of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, told Prothom Alo today that according to their records, today’s earthquake was of magnitude 4. It was a minor earthquake. But the epicentre was in Chhatak, Sylhet.

The tremor was recorded at 12:19 pm today. According to a Met Office notice, the epicentre was located 185 kilometres northeast of the capital Dhaka.

The 14 September earthquake had originated between the Assam Valley and the Himalayas, not far from Guwahati, the capital of Assam. That tremor was of moderate to strong intensity.

Earthquake expert Professor Syed Humayun Akhter told Prothom Alo that today’s epicentre lies in the Dauki Fault region. Bangladesh has two seismic sources, one in the north and another in the east.

The northern source is the Dauki Fault, which is a highly vulnerable zone for Bangladesh. So even though today’s earthquake was minor, it is a warning signal, he said.

Professor Humayun Akhter added that in February 2024, two to three earthquakes of the magnitude of about 4 or slightly above had occurred in the same area. This region is becoming increasingly risky.

The professor noted that in the 1787 earthquake along the Dauki Fault, the course of the Brahmaputra River was altered. A century and a decade later, in 1897, the so-called ‘Great Indian Earthquake’ also struck this region. Other than Assam and Meghalaya at the time, Dhaka was also badly affected from this.

According to the former professor of geology at Dhaka University, the magnitude of that earthquake was 8.2 on the Richter scale. Five people were killed in Dhaka alone. Historical records show that after the quake, British officials stationed in Dhaka lived for months in tents at what is now Ramna, while some stayed on houseboats on the Buriganga River.