Syed Shemul Parvez :
Repeated earthquakes in recent times across the country have raised serious concerns among the people in the country.
A moderate earthquake jolted the capital city and other parts of the country on Saturday morning, creating panic among the people who felt light to strong shakes.
The tremor occurred at around 9:36am and lasted about 33 seconds.
The quake was felt in Munshiganj, Gopalganj, Kushtia, Chapainawabganj, Tangail, Sylhet, Cox’s Bazar and other parts of the country.
According to the United States Geological Survey, the magnitude was 5.5.
The epicenter was 60km far from the capital Dhaka. According to experts, Bangladesh is facing a high risk of moderate to strong earthquakes that may result in widespread damage and loss of thousands of lives.
Bangladesh is located at the junction of three dynamic tectonic plates. A lot of energy is being stored there as the plates are active. As a result, Bangladesh is at risk of excessive earthquakes.
Experts said that pre-shocks of earthquakes are generally seen before a major earthquake.
“If there is an earthquake of more than seven magnitudes, the capital city will be damaged, they feared.
They also believe that the recent frequent earthquakes across the country, including Sylhet, as a major forecast since no major earthquakes have occurred in the last five hundred to one thousand years in the hilly areas of Chattogram from Dauki Fault and Sylhet. As a result, panic spread all over the country.
In the last three months, seven earthquakes have been recorded across the country, including the Saturday morning earthquake.
Three of these seismic events occurred in September, while two took place in August.
A recent study conducted by a group of teachers from Dhaka University and Columbia University, USA revealed the information that at least 13 areas of Bangladesh are at risk of earthquake because of tectonic faults with the three districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the Jaintiapur upazila of Sylhet district at the most risk.
These earthquake-prone areas are located only 100km away from the capital city, but an earthquake of magnitude 7-8 on the Richter scale may result in a large-scale disaster in the capital.
According to seismologists from Bangladesh, a huge jolt is likely to be felt in Dhaka city by an earthquake of magnitude 7-8 from a distance of 100-200 kilometres and that may harm weak structures and buildings in the city.