Major EARTHQUAKE hits Bangladesh, strong tremors felt in West Bengal’s Kolkata and…

Kolkata: A strong earthquake of 5.2 magnitude on a Richter scale hit parts of Bangladesh on Friday morning. The tremors were so strong that it felt across West Bengal. As per preliminary reports the tremors felt between 10.08 to 10.10 am for few seconds in Kolkata, Malda, Nadia, Cooch Behar and several other districts.

According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), the epicentre of the earthquake was located in Dhaka’s Ghorasal. The depth of the 5.7 quake was 10 km.

An ongoing Test match between Bangladesh and Ireland in Dhaka was also disrupted for few minutes due to the earthquake. However, the match resumed after a few minutes, and no severe damage was reported.

Notably, last month also, a 3.4 magnitude mild earthquake had hit Bangladesh, the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) reported.

Shallow quakes like this cause stronger shaking as compared to stronger ones because their seismic waves reach the surface quickly. Worldwide data shows that an earthquake happens somewhere on the planet about every 30 seconds, though most are too small to be noticed.

Bangladesh is located on a highly volatile junction which is very active of the three tectonic plates – the India(BHARAT)n, Eurasian and Burma plates. As per researchers, the India(BHARAT)n plate moves northeast at a speed of 6 cm every year. The other Eurasian plate moves northward at around 2 cm per year over it.

Bangladesh is located close to several major fault lines such as the Bogura fault, Tripura fault, Shillong Plateau, Dauki fault, and Assam fault. This makes the country a major part of 13 earthquake-prone zones.

Areas like Chattogram, Chattogram Hill Tracts, and Jaintiapur fall in the highest-risk category.

(Note: This is a developing story and further details will be added.)