Earthquakes leave two buildings tilted in Sylhet

Two buildings were left tilted in Sylhet city after four successive mild earthquakes shook the region on Saturday.

Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) said the six-storey building (Pallabi Block C-16, holding no 0382-01 and Mohona Block B-03, holding No-0851-14) in the city's Pathantula area of Ward No 8 tilted some two feet towards each other following the tremors.

The authorities concerned have identified the buildings as risky and asked their residents to evacuate.

Additional police have been deployed in the area to maintain security.

Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury, accompanied by officials and engineers, also visited the site on Saturday night.

However, on Sunday afternoon, after two inspections of the buildings by SCC engineers and the Public Works Department headed by the mayor, no irregularities were found, said a government representative.

Also read- Experts: Tremors in Sylhet might hint at bigger quakes

Already filled with anxieties, people of Sylhet experienced another quake, categorized as "very minor," at 4:35am on Sunday, hours after the initial tremor and aftershocks that jolted the region on Saturday.

The back-to-back earthquakes have spread panic among the locals who are worried about a potential major quake.

The latest quake on Sunday was of magnitude 2.8 on the Richter scale and its epicentre was in the district’s bordering area, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).

On Saturday, the first tremor struck at 10:36am with a magnitude of 3, followed by the aftershocks of 4.1-magnitude at 10:50am, 2.8-magnitude at 11:30am, and 4-magnitude at 1:58pm, the BMD said.

Fortunately, there were no reports of any casualty or damage to property. But experts say it could be a warning sign of a major earthquake.