– Earthquake: 6.8 magnitude
– Epicenter: Imphal of Manipur, Northeast India
– Bangladesh time: 5.05 – 5.08 AM (from East to West)
– 16 hurt in Dhaka (stampede and unsafe running)
– Building tilted in Sylhet
Cool winter morning: someone just awake, mostly still deeply asleep. Sudden severe jolts. Those who were awake don’t need time to understand what was happening. Asleep people suddenly wake up for the jolts. Then the panic spreads: the earthquake’s panic.
Today Monday 4th January 2016 at 5 am and 7 minutes Bangladesh time the whole country is hit by the earthquake, including the capital Dhaka. The intensity is 6.8 on the Richter scale. Many people leave their homes out of fear and run in the middle of the streets. People’s screaming creates an atmosphere of terror.
The epicenter of the quake is in the Indian state of Manipur, Imphal, at Bangladesh and Myanmar border areas. According to the US Geological Survey, at 4 and 35 minutes India local time the quake struck. The epicenter was at 9 km North-West from Imphal. The USGS estimated also that as many as 98 million people in the region may have felt the earthquake.
There are casualties reported for the earthquake. One person was killed in the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka (falling down by the stairs recklessly). At least 50 people were injured throughout the country (16 in Dhaka), all because of stampede and unsafe running.
