Dhaka, Narsingdi rattled as two tremors hit just a second apart

The country experiences three tremors in a day, including two in rapid succession

Bangladesh has been shaken twice within seconds, with epicentres at Dhaka’s Badda and Narsingdi, according to the Meteorological Department’s Seismology Monitoring Centre.

Residents felt the tremors at 6:06:04pm and 6:06:05pm on Saturday, rattling Dhaka and nearby districts.

Rubaiyat Kabir of the Seismology Monitoring Centre said the first tremor originated in Badda, measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale and classified as “mild”. The second, 23km from Dhaka in Narsingdi, registered 4.3 and was considered “light”.

Earlier on Saturday, at 10:36am, another mild tremor of 3.3 magnitude was felt, centred in Narsingdi. It was initially reported from Baipail in Savar, but the Seismology Monitoring Centre later corrected the epicentre to Palash in Narsingdi.

These tremors followed Friday morning’s catastrophic earthquake at 10:38am, which shook the entire country. The 5.7-magnitude quake, with an epicentre in Madhabdi, Narsingdi -- 13km from Dhaka -- had a focal depth of 10km and lasted 26 seconds.

It killed at least 10 people across three districts, injured more than 600, and caused cracks and partial tilting in numerous Dhaka buildings.

Saturday’s two evening tremors caused no reported casualties or damage, according to the Fire Service.

While the Seismology Monitoring Centre recorded two distinct quakes, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported a single tremor in Bangladesh at 4.3 magnitude at 6:06pm, centred 11km west of Narsingdi, with a depth of 10km.

The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) also reported one quake at 3.7 magnitude, placing the epicentre 8km north-northeast of Dhaka.

An hour after the evening tremors, Anisur Rahman, officer on duty at Dhaka Fire Service control room, confirmed that no emergency calls had been received.

Following Friday’s deadly quake, the worst in decades, Saturday’s tremors left people in a state of panic.

Six hall students, five of them women, at Dhaka University were injured while attempting to rush to safety on Saturday.