Fresh aftershocks rattle Bangladesh a day after deadly quake
People gather outside a narrow lane in old city area where a roof and wall collapsed, after an earthquake in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Nov 21, 2025. (Photo: AP/Abdul Goni)
DHAKA: Two low-magnitude tremors hit Bangladesh on Saturday (Nov 22), the national meteorological service said, with a second jolt striking Dhaka in the evening, a day after a powerful earthquake outside the capital killed at least 10 people.
Updating earlier tolls from Friday’s 5.5 magnitude quake, disaster management official Ishtiaqe Ahmed told AFP that “the number of casualties has reached 10, while a few hundred were injured”.
The first earthquake was felt in Dhaka and neighbouring districts, causing widespread destruction.
Omar Faruq of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department said a minor jolt was recorded on Saturday at 10.36am Bangladesh time, with the epicentre of the 3.3 magnitude tremor in Ashulia, just north of the capital.
A second tremor, measuring 4.3 magnitude, struck Dhaka around 6pm, the meteorological service said.
FEARS RISE AFTER NEW JOLTS
Dhaka resident Tasnuba Sharmin Sharna, 32, told AFP her children screamed as furniture shook, adding: "We are praying to God for mercy."
Aftershocks such as these are common after major earthquakes, but for some in Bangladesh they have added to fears of an even larger disaster.
"I do not feel safe yet, as there was another jolt this morning in Ashulia. Maybe we are next," said Shahnaj Parvin.
The 44 year old, who lives near the epicentre of Friday's earthquake, said she had never experienced such a tremor. Cracks have developed in dozens of houses in her area.
"I was hanging my children's clothes on the washing line when the tremor struck," she said. "I held onto a mahogany tree, and when I returned home, I found my glassware broken."
GOVERNMENT ASSESSES DAMAGE
The government has activated Bangladesh's emergency operation centre to assess the scale of the damage and coordinate relief and rescue work.
Rubayet Kabir of the Meteorological Department's Earthquake Observation and Research Center said Bangladesh's geography makes the country of 170 million people prone to quakes.
"That is why we experience earthquakes quite frequently, though they are not as strong as the one on Friday," he said.
"Some small tremors are expected after any major earthquake," Kabir said. "There has been no massive earthquake in the last 100 years or more, but Bangladesh has been vulnerable for quite some time."
