6.7-strong pre-dawn earthquake shakes Bangladesh, spreads panic

A pre-dawn moderate earthquake originating in the Indian state of Manipur has shaken Bangladesh, northeast India, and Myanmar - making sleeping people jump out of their bed and rush out of their home.

The US Geological Survey said the 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck at 5:05am Bangladesh Standard Time on Monday.

Its epicentre lay 29 kilometres west of Imphal, India and 352 kilometres east-northeast of Dhaka, the USGS said. It was 35 kilometres deep.

Hundreds of Dhaka City residents rushed out on the streets after feeling the tremors.

Susmita Shahreen, a resident of Bashundhara Residential Area, told bdnews24.com that she woke up to the jolts.

“I woke my father and mother up and rushed down the stairs with them. It was strong.”

The tremor shock spilled out on the streets in Sylhet as well. It caused people to run screaming for open ground, seeking divine intervention for their safety.

“We rushed out and saw the people were frightened and screaming crazily,” said Anindita Das at Subidbazar.

The intensity of 6.7 is not quite strong enough to be considered a "major" quake but more than strong enough for those who had to live through it.

Md Wahiduzzaman of Mirzajangal happened not to be in bed. He said the earthquake flipped him off the couch like a coin.

Shaken but unhurt, he searched the house and saw the doors to the bedroom closet had been knocked off their tracks and landed on his pillow.

Rajib Das, a resident of Machhudighir Par in the northeastern city, had been having trouble sleeping and was watching TV when he felt something akin to "a giant hand reaching down and shaking me."

He was untouched, but a five-foot-high wooden bookcase had toppled onto his side of the bed. Sometimes, he reflected later, "insomnia is good for your health".

Intensity map of earthquake. Source: USGS

Responses filed with the USGS showed that similar jolts were felt all the way up to Kolkata and Shiliguri.

There have been no reports of casualties until the time of filing of this report.

Houses, especially high-rise buildings, swayed even as far as Kolkata, the bdnews24.com correspondent there said.

bdnews24.com’s Tripura correspondent said the earthquake rocked the entire northeast India.

No casualties were reported, officials said.

IMD says the quake was felt in most parts of the northeast region and neighbouring Myanmar and Bangladesh.

The tremor lasted for about four to five seconds.

The seven northeastern states – Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur – are considered by seismologists as the sixth major earthquake-prone belt in the world.

The region experienced an earthquake measuring 8.7 on the Richter scale in 1897. Over 1,600 people had died in that quake.

[Additional input from Subir Bhaumik in India, and Osham-ul-Sufian Talukder and Rifaat Newaz in Dhaka]