Chittagong and adjoining hill districts have experienced an earthquake of medium intensity, the Met Office has confirmed.
According to the seismic department, the 8:30am tremor measured 5 on the Richter scale. The US seismic observation centre, USGS, however recorded it as a 5.3 quake.
Met Office official Md Hanif on Tuesday morning said that the epicentre of the earthquake was located in Myanmar, about 400 kms off Dhaka at a place called Mawlaik.The earthquake was triggered at a depth of 105 kms from the surface, he added.No immediate damage or casualty due to the earthquake has been reported.
Tremors of intensity 4 to 4.99 on the Richter scale are categorised as ‘light’, those between 5 and 5.99 as ‘moderate’ and those between 6 and 6.99 are classified as ‘strong’.Earthquakes measuring 7 and above are classed as ‘major’ while those measuring 8 and above are known as ‘great and greater’. Tuesday’s earthquake was thus a moderate tremor.
Chittagong had experienced the rigours of another moderate earthquake with epicentre also in Myanmar on the first day of August this year.On Apr 13 night, a 6.9 earthquake had shaken Bangladesh.
