A strong Richter scale earthquake hit Myanmar Tuesday night and it was 6.0 magnitude, shaking Myanmar at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers and could be felt in Kolkata and some areas of Bangladesh. This quake was recorded around 9:03 PM (IST), reported the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ) at its website. It was the epicenter situated near Akyab (Sittwe), located in Rakhine State of Myanmar.
Impact in Kolkata
People in Kolkata and its neighboring districts, especially high-rise apartment residents, reported feeling distinct vibrations for multiple seconds. Ceiling fans swayed and furniture rattled creating many people leaving their homes to enter open settings. “One morning I was sitting on my sofa and had a sudden, dizzying sway. The light fixtures started to shake, and we dashed down the stairs right away,” said a resident of a high-rise complex in New Town.
Regional Impact
As well as West Bengal, tremors were felt throughout Bangladesh—including the capital city Dhaka. That seismic event is the third time an earthquake has been experienced in the Myanmar region in the past 71 hours, prompting fears among geologists that an increase in activity along the Sagaing Fault and the Burma Plate boundary is being developed.
Current Status
- Casualties: No direct reports of injuries or deaths in India or Bangladesh.
- Damage: Structural damage has not been reported at this time in Kolkata.
- Official stance: The National Centre for Seismology (NCS) and local officials are watching it closely for aftershocks, officials said.
Experts advise the public to “stay calm in the face of an earthquake and implement the usual earthquake safety protocol — so-called ‘Drop, Cover, and Hold On’ — in the face of any remaining or sudden aftershocks.”
