Panic gripped residents of Dhaka as three mild earthquakes shook the capital in eight hours on Saturday after a moderate earthquake which occurred on Friday morning had left at least 10 dead and more than 1,000 injured.
One of the epicentres of Saturday鈥檚 earthquakes is at Badda in Dhaka, another epicentre is at Palash upazila in Narsingdi, the place where Friday鈥檚 earthquake occurred, and the other is in the same district, Narsingdi, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department.聽
Friday鈥檚 earthquake also left several buildings in Dhaka tilted.
Earthquake experts said that, because of its geological location, Bangladesh lies in an active seismic zone鈥攕imilar to countries such as Japan and Turkey鈥攂ut the focus should be on minimizing damage through preparedness, safety compliance, and resilient infrastructure.
鈥榃e know that an earthquake will happen here and we cannot stop it anyhow.聽But we can reduce vulnerability through better preparation,鈥� said Professor Zillur Rahman, the former chairman of the Department of Disaster Science and Climate Resilience at the University of Dhaka.
The BMD reported that Saturday鈥檚 first earthquake jolted Dhaka and other districts at 10:36am, just 24 hours after a moderate 5.7 magnitude earthquake that shook parts of the country and left 10 people dead and over 1,000 injured on Friday.
The 3.3-magnitude tremor was recorded at the same location with its epicentre at Palash upazila in Narsingdi.
Officer-in-charge of the seismic observatory at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department Rubyet Kabir said that two earthquakes were also recorded at 6:06pm.
The epicentre of the 3.7-magnitude quake was at Badda in Dhaka and of the 4.3-magnitude earthquake was in Narsingdi at a depth of 10 kilometres.
The US Geological Survey, however,聽 provided information about only one earthquake that occurred in Narsingdi at 6:06pm. It said the 4.3-magnitude earthquake originated at a depth of 10 kilometres.
No casualties and damage were recorded after the three earthquakes on Saturday.
However, the repeated incidents of earthquakes spread panic among the residents who, out of panic, fled their rooms for open places.
Aklima Akter, a resident of the capital鈥檚 Shewrapara, said that she had been living in a 7th floor聽apartment.
鈥業 am afraid to stay in my apartment following the incidents of earthquake as I am worried about the building鈥檚 strength,鈥� she said.
However, earthquake experts said that panic could be a cause of more loss.
They advised the people to be educated and aware of the disaster.
Injuries and loss of lives become higher due to stampedes and jumping from high places when people become panicked.
Disaster Forum member secretary Gawher Nayeem Wahra said that people should be educated about what to do during earthquakes.
鈥楳isinformation about earthquakes is spreading panic more,鈥� he said and asked authorities to educate people and build earthquake-resilient buildings.
According to a survey by the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha, 80 per cent of houses in Dhaka were built without any official approval.
RAJUK鈥檚 Detailed Area Plan data shows that, under its jurisdiction, 21 lakh structures have been built, including 5.5 lakh multi-storied buildings with more than two floors.
RAJUK chairman Md Reazul Islam on Saturday inspected buildings damaged聽in Friday鈥檚 earthquake in Old Dhaka and said that most buildings in the area were at high risk of earthquake.
In many cases, six- to seven-storey buildings have been constructed on plots smaller than one katha, and often without any approved plan, he said.
RAJUK chief town planner Md Ashraful Islam said that Dhaka now has more than 2,000 buildings above 10 storeys, compared with 1,840 in 2019.
The experts emphasised the need to find out the vulnerable buildings and to retrofit them.
Professor Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, a disaster expert at the civil engineering department at the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, said that the recent repeated earthquakes, with magnitude below 6 are a warning sign for a devastating quake of magnitude 7 or even higher that could result in an unprecedented level of casualties.
He said that research indicated a trend that strong earthquakes might recur every 100鈥�125 years and Bangladesh was almost at the juncture now.
The last earthquake with higher than magnitude 7 struck the country in the 1930s, they said, warning that another strong quake might strike at any moment, he said.
According to the BMD, a total of 76 earthquakes have hit Bangladesh and neighbouring countries between January 1 and November 21 this year.
Mehedi Ahmed Ansary said that an earthquake of over magnitude 7 could cause up to three lakh casualties as buildings in Dhaka were not built following the building code properly.
Geo-hazard specialist Mohan Kumar Das, joint secretary of the South Asian Meteorological Association, said that Bangladesh experienced repeated earthquakes in recent years and now stands in a 鈥榮ensitive鈥� condition for strong to major quakes.
鈥榃e do not have instruments to monitor tectonic plate movements and changes. If we did, we could have identified which sections are becoming sensitive to earthquakes and taken precautions to mitigate the risk,鈥� he said.
He said that coordinated efforts between operational agencies and academic researchers were a must for a better understanding of earthquake risks.
Experts said that major active faults in Bangladesh include the Dauki Fault in the Sylhet region and the Madhupur Fault near Dhaka, as identified in national geological mapping.
Bangladesh鈥檚 seismicity is strongly influenced by the north-eastward movement of the Indian Plate and its interaction with adjacent plates and micro-plates.
The country鈥檚 key fault systems, such as the Sylhet-Assam and Dauki faults, are understood within this broader tectonic setting.
Following the November 21 earthquake, specialists indicated that a minor branch of the Noakhali-Sylhet fault system was linked to the epicentral activity in Narsingdi.
