Bangladesh experienced four earthquakes barely in 32 hours since Friday morning, which experts say, may have been a signal of a major one.
A powerful 5.7-magnitude jolt on Friday, followed by a 3.3 tremor Saturday morning, and two more within the span of a single second at 6:06 pm the same day, measuring 3.7 and 4.3 on the Richter scale.
Panic gripped residents of the capital city when the first tremor shaken them at 10:36am. Two other tremors struck in the evening, something that Bangladesh experienced for the first time, leaving a nationwide fear of a major disaster.
Later at night, geological experts warned that the country might be inching toward a far more catastrophic event, given both the origins and the alarming pattern of the recent tremors.
According to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, the first two quakes struck with their epicentres in Narsingdi, while the latest shook the capital itself – a sequence specialists say could be an ominous precursor to something significantly stronger.
Earthquake expert and former professor of Geology at the University of Dhaka, Syed Humayun Akhter, said, “Those of us work in geology have been warning since 2016 that an enormous amount of energy has accumulated in our subduction zones. This energy could be released at any moment in the form of a major earthquake.”
Subduction occurs when one tectonic plate slowly slips beneath another. While this motion is gradual, it often jams, causing stress that builds for years. When the tension finally gives way, it unleashes a massive quake — the kind behind the planet’s most devastating seismic events.
Akhter explained that the Indian tectonic plate is sliding beneath the Burmese plate, and that the hilly belt stretching from Sylhet down to Cox’s Bazar forms Bangladesh’s active subduction zone.
“If we pay close attention to where these tremors are occurring, we should be able to read the warning signs of what lies ahead,” he told TIMES of Bangladesh, adding the quakes over the past two to three days are clear indicators that a much larger earthquake may be looming.
Another expert, Mehedi Ahmed Ansary, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, cautioned that the next three to four days should be closely monitored to determine whether these tremors are foreshocks to a larger quake.
“There are several theoretical perspectives regarding seismic activity, one of which is that smaller tremors can be precursors to a larger one. Historical observations show that big earthquakes occur every 100–150 years,” he told TIMES.
He added, “We haven’t experienced a big earthquake in the past 100 years. So, there is a possibility of a larger one if more tremors occur, considering the history of this region before 1930.”
Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said that the government is observing the situation. “We will take necessary actions against risky buildings,” he told TIMES of Bangladesh when asked about the government’s preparation to face a destructive earthquake.
Echoing him, Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid told TIMES that they are going to hold meetings on it [earthquake] as soon as possible.
Friday’s earthquake left 10 people – including children and members of the same family – dead, and injured more than 600 others. Many of the injuries occurred as residents of Dhaka and surrounding districts rushed out of buildings in panic.
Initial government assessments show that 14 buildings in Dhaka, around 50 in Narayanganj, more than a hundred – including government establishments – in Narsingdi, and one building in Chattogram have either tilted dangerously or developed structural cracks.
On the same day during a visit to Kasaituli in Old Dhaka – where three people died during Friday’s quake – Reazul told reporters that the city could have faced a full-scale disaster had the quake lasted just ten seconds longer.
While there were no casualties from Saturday’s earthquakes, Friday’s tremor caused widespread power and mobile network disruptions and ignited a fire at the Ghorashal power plant in Narsingdi.
Authorities in Narsingdi have formed a committee to assess structural damage following Friday’s powerful earthquake.
