'Strongest earthquake in our memory': Satkhira residents recount moments of terror

Satkhira was jolted by a sudden earthquake today at 1:52 pm. Locals felt the ground shaking for several seconds. Worshippers felt the tremor at mosques mid-Jummah prayers, families went into a frenzy as they rushed down staircases.

Residents, visibly shaken by the quake, said it was the strongest in memory.

The tremor, measured at 5.4 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre near Assasuni upazila, about 18km southeast of Satkhira town, according to the local weather office.

Zulfikar Ali, acting officer at Satkhira’s weather office, confirmed the epicentre was in Assasuni.

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Upazila Nirbahi Officer Saiduzzaman Imu said the earthquake caused strong shaking and widespread panic, but no damage has been reported.

Alauddin Hossain, who was at a mosque in Assasuni, said, "I felt the jolt right in my chest."

Rabiul Alam and Tuhin Gazi recounted that they were offering prayers in Kulla Baitul Aman Jaame Mosque when the ground started shaking violently.

Masud Rana and Sadiq Anwar, who were praying at Bodata Central Jaame Mosque, said, "It felt as though everything was turning upside down."

Worshippers started chanting Allah's name, they added.

Abdul Ali of Assasuni Sadar upazila recalled that his two-storey building started to shake violently around 2:00 pm. "People in our building started running for their lives. Thankfully, there were no casualties."

Purbopod Mallik of Harinagar village described his two-storey house was swaying. "Monisha Mollik, Priyanka Kormokar, Topu, Payel -- all residents of our building, started crying."

In Satkhira town, Jahangir Hossain said, "As soon as I felt the tremor, I just picked up my child, and rushed out to the street. My heart is still pounding."

In the mini market area, shopkeeper Shariful Islam said he was busy in his shop, but ran out as soon as he felt a sudden jolt.

Asked about any fault line in Satkhira, Prof Syed Humayun Akhter, former chairman of the Department of Geology at Dhaka University, told The Daily Star that only a fault line is not responsible for a tremor. It can happen for several other reasons.

“Another tremor happened in Satkhira around 10 to 12 years back,” Prof Humayun mentioned.