Strong Quake Jolts Dhaka, Sparks Nationwide Panic

On the holiday morning, houses shook with a strong jolt, spreading panic across Dhaka and the entire country.

Rubayet Kabir, an official at the Seismic Observation Center of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, said that the magnitude of the earthquake at 10:38am on Friday was 5.7 on the Richter scale.

The epicenter was 13 kilometers away from Dhaka, at a depth of 10 kilometers beneath the surface.

However, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported the magnitude as 5.5 on the Richter scale. It stated that the epicenter was 14 kilometers west-southwest of Narsingdi.

As panic spread during the earthquake, people rushed out of their homes. Due to the shaking, items fell from shelves and tables in many houses.

After the tremor stopped, reports came in from several areas of Dhaka—including Badda and Dhanmondi—of cracks appearing in buildings and plaster falling off.

The Fire Service went to Armanitola after receiving news that a six-story building had collapsed, but no detailed information was immediately available.

Brigadier General Mohammad Zahid Kamal, Director General of the Fire Service, told bdnews24.com, “Our teams have gone to different places after receiving reports. But no major incident has been reported so far.”

Abdullah Al Mamun, a residential student of Sir A.F. Rahman Hall at Dhaka University, said, “After the earthquake started, room 105 was completely messed up. When we arrived, we saw everything had fallen down.”