Earthquake Shakes Bangladesh

It was a Friday morning. The clock showed 10:38 AM. Since it was the weekly holiday, many working people were still asleep. Some were having breakfast, while others were at the market. Suddenly, a tremor. Though initially bewildered, it became clear within a few seconds that an earthquake had struck. The jolt was excessive. No one in the country had felt such a severe tremor in recent memory.

The whole of Bangladesh trembled. This was the largest earthquake originating in the country in recent times. It caused extensive infrastructural damage. At least 10 people, including children, were killed. Over 400 people were injured.

Professor Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of the interim government of Bangladesh, expressed deep sorrow and grief over the casualties and deaths caused by the collapse of houses and other accidents in various districts of the country due to the earthquake.

The District Relief and Rehabilitation Office in Dhaka has provided a list of damaged buildings, reporting damage to structures in 14 areas of the capital.

An initial list of damaged buildings was mentioned in a message signed by Md. Salah Uddin-Al-Wadud, Dhaka District Relief and Rehabilitation Officer, on Friday night. It reported that 14 buildings in a total of fourteen areas, including Malibagh Chowdhury Para, Armanitola, Sutrapur, Banani, and Kolabagan in the capital, were damaged in the earthquake that occurred on Friday morning.

The death toll from Friday’s earthquake in Bangladesh has risen to 10. Four people were reported killed in Dhaka, five in Narsingdi (the epicenter of the earthquake), and one in Narayanganj.

Nitai Chandra De Sarkar, Director of the Monitoring and Information Management Wing of the Department of Disaster Management, told the news agency Pressenza on Friday evening that they have received reports of more than four hundred and fifty people being injured so far.

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