3.3 magnitude earthquake hits Palash in Narsingdi, not Baipail
Nizamuddin Ahmed, an official of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department, confirmed that the tremor occurred at 10:36am.
A minor earthquake of magnitude 3.3 on the Richter scale shook the Palash upazila of Narsingdi this morning (22 November).
Nizamuddin Ahmed, an official of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), confirmed that the tremor occurred at 10:36am.
The BMD initially said the tremor occurred in the Baipail area of Ashulia thana in Dhaka's Savar upazila but later corrected the location to Palash upazila of Narsingdi.
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Its epicentre was located about 29km west of the BMD Seismic Centre in Agargaon.
There were no immediate reports of damage or casualties, officials said.
Yesterday (21 November), a powerful 5.7-magnitude earthquake jolted Bangladesh, damaging multiple buildings in Dhaka and other districts, killing at least 10 people, including a newborn, and injuring hundreds.
Bangladesh sits on the collision zone of major tectonic plates, crossed by several active fault lines, placing the country at high seismic risk. The region has a long history of powerful earthquakes — five major quakes between 1869 and 1930 measured above 7.0 on the Richter scale.
Experts say the absence of strong earthquakes in recent decades should not be taken as reassurance, warning that this quiet period could be a precursor to a major event.
Seismic activity has increased in recent years. Of the 60 earthquakes detected since 2024, three had magnitudes above 4.0 and 31 ranged between 3.0 and 4.0. With rapid urbanisation and weak building standards, the country remains dangerously exposed.
Dhaka is considered one of the world's 20 most earthquake-vulnerable cities.
The Rana Plaza collapse in 2013, which killed more than 1,100 people, highlighted the deadly consequences of unsafe construction.
A 2018 assessment showed that many buildings in Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Pallabi, Rampura, Motijheel and Khilgaon do not meet proper structural and design requirements.
Chattogram, the Chittagong Hill Tracts and Sylhet's Jaintiapur are among the highest-risk zones. A major earthquake in any of these regions could trigger a catastrophic situation in Dhaka.
