A mild tremor of 3.8 magnitude on the Richter Scale was felt in Sylhet city on Monday evening, causing panic among residents as they have experienced several earthquakes in the last 10 days.
Seismic In-Charge of Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) Md Muminul Islam confirmed the matter of the tremor to Dhaka Tribune.
“It was a minor earthquake that hit at 6:30pm,” he said.
The epicenter of the earthquake was near the West Khasi Hills in the Indian state of Meghalaya. It occurred at a depth of 10km, according to the earthquake monitoring website VolcanoDiscovery.
Also Read- Sylhet tremors: 25 risky buildings, markets shut down for 10 days
People came out on the streets in panic after the latest earthquake, said lawyer Kamal Hossain of Sagardighipar area.
Alauddin, a security guard in the Shahi Eidgah area, was on the roof of a high-rise building during the earthquake.
“I felt that the building was swaying in the air,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
Due to the earthquake, several rooms of Raja GC School’s science building developed cracks.
Named after former Sylhet mayor Badaruddin Ahmed Kamran, the science building was built in 2006 and the first floor was completed in 2017.
Headmaster of the school Abdul Mumin confirmed the matter, and added that the building also tilted. He demanded that the authorities take initiative to repair the building.
Philanthropist Raja Girish Chandra established the school in 1886.
Sylhet fire service’s Senior Station Officer Humayun Karnayen visited the spot in the night.
On May 30, the Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) authorities carried out an inspection and shut down 25 risky residential buildings and markets of the city for 10 days.
Also Read- Experts: Tremors in Sylhet might hint at bigger quakes
Sylhet is located in the plate boundary area near the Dawki Fault, which is a thrust fault with a strike slip component linking the Sylhet Trough and Shillong Plateau.
On May 29, the first tremor of magnitude 3 on the Richter scale was felt at 10:36am, followed by the aftershocks of 4.1 magnitude at 10:50am, 2.8 magnitude at 11:30am, and 4 magnitude at 1:58pm. Two buildings tilted in Sylhet city but no casualties were reported.
The next day another tremor of magnitude 2.8 shook the city.
The back-to-back earthquakes have spread panic among locals, who are worried about a potential major quake. Many people living in high-rise buildings have left the city for their village homes.
