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September 18, 2011 Earthquake in Bangladesh
Graphics (Toronto: Sept. 21, 2011) © Joachim Romeo D'Costa
An earthquake measuring 6.8 in the Richter Scale hit the Himalayan countries of Sikkim, Nepal, India, Tibet and also Bangladesh on Sunday, September 18, at around 6:10 p.m. The epicenter of the quake was on the border of Sikkim and Nepal and the hypocentre was about 21 km (13.05 miles) below the surface.
Sikkim was the victim of the extensive damage to houses and infrastructures and about 28 people were killed.
In India, the quake was felt in Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh including Delhi and Rajasthan. In Kolkata (Calcutta), some buildings showed cracks.
In Bangladesh, people in Dhaka, Chittagong, Bogra and some other areas felt the jolts of the quake and many of them panicked and ran to safer places.
The 1897 quake, with the epicentre in Assam, was one of the worst ones hitting the region. Extensive destruction of properties and infrastructures and loss of human lives were marked at the time. The Brahmaputra River flowing near the town of Mymensingh in Bangladesh completely changed its course at the time. Dhaka city also felt the brunt of the quake. Many kancha (mud-walled) houses in Dhaka were completely levelled. The Holy Cross Church adjoining the old St. Gregory's High School building experienced a large crack. Later the church had to be demolished and rebuilt.
For further details on the present and past earthquake in the region, you may read the following:
- 18 Killed as Powerful Earthquake Jolts Northeast India, Nepal
- Sept 18, 2011 Earthquake in Photos
- 6.8 Sikkim Quake Jolts Bangladesh
- Sikkim Earthquake
- The Great Assam Earthquake of 1897
- Scenario of Seismic Hazard in Assam
- Documentation on Past Disasters...in Assam
- Environmental Information System -- Assam
- 1897 Assam Earthquake
- Earthquakes of Dhaka
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