Earthquake jolts Ctg, south-east region

FE Team | Published: November 08, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

A strong earthquake, measuring 6.0 on the Richter Scale, jolted a number of districts of the country's south-east region along the Bangladesh-India border Wednesday afternoon, causing cracks to many buildings, report bdnews24.com and UNB.
The epi-centre of the tremor, felt at about 13 hours 10 minutes 21 seconds (BST), was about 253-km south-east off Dhaka Seismic Observatory at Agargaon and 67-km east-south off Chittagong Seismic Observatory at Ambagan.
Local sources said, strong earthquakes were felt in Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Bandarban, Khagrachhari, Comilla and Noakhali districts at about 1:10pm, which lasted for several seconds.
Panicked by the sudden jolts, local people of the districts rushed out of their houses. 'Azan' and 'Uludhoni' were heard during the quake. Many contacted their families from their work after the quake to enquire about their well being. Newspaper offices were busy receiving phones enquiring about accidents, if any.
In Chittagong, Haq Market, a four-storied building at Bahaddarhat area, was tilted by the impact of the earthquake. Police said, some families living on the top floor of the building were soon evacuated.
Part of the under-construction boundary wall of the Chittagong Airport also collapsed during the earthquake.
At Foujdarhat, fire broke out at the gas transmission station of Sangu. It was soon brought under control by fire-extinguishing equipment at the station.
Cracks developed on the 3rd floor of a newly-constructed five-storied building at Rajapukur Lane in Andarkillah area due to the tremor.
In Bandarban, the earthquake also caused cracks to two buildings - one of court and another of a bank - in the town.
In Rangamati, a man was injured as he jumped off the rooftop of a two-storied building being panicked during the tremor. He was admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital in a critical condition. Cracks were also developed in a number of buildings, including that of the fire service, in the town.