Kolkata was rocked on Friday after a 4.9-magnitude earthquake struck Bangladesh, with tremors felt across the city. The tremors sent many startled residents running out of buildings, including homes and offices.
People took to social media to share screenshots of earthquake alerts that appeared on their mobile phones.
Kolkata residents have continued to share their experiences online following the tremors, with some questioning whether earthquakes have become more frequent in the city in recent years.
Arindam, a user on X (formerly Twitter), wondered if seismic activity around Kolkata had increased over time.
“The earthquake in Kolkata was too strong. I think the frequency of earthquakes in Kolkata has increased in the last few years,” he wrote.
Shashank Choudhary, a resident of the city, wrote on X that the tremors lasted “for a long time”.
“It was very scary. Thank God we are safe,” Choudhary said.
Residents in several neighborhoods also reported ceiling fans swaying, furniture shaking and windows rattling during the tremors, with the impact stronger in multistory buildings.
Meanwhile, Sukanta Majumdar, who was addressing a public meeting at the time, briefly interrupted his speech after an earthquake was felt at the site.
According to ANI, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck southwest of BMD’s seismic center at Agargaon in Dhaka, Bangladesh on Friday afternoon.
Its epicenter was located just 3 km inside Bangladesh near the India-Bangladesh border, The Times of India reported.
Earlier, residents of Kolkata reported feeling tremors on February 3 following an earthquake that originated near Yenangyaung in Myanmar.
According to seismic data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.9 and struck at 15:34 UTC, approximately 95 km west of Yenangyaung at a depth of 62.7 km.
People in Kolkata then reported feeling the shaking in homes and restaurants, with some reports emphasizing the intensity of the tremors.
“Another earthquake in Calcutta… Couches, bed and coffee mugs felt the tremors!” one resident wrote, while another shared, “Felt it 20 minutes ago while sitting at my desk. Anyone else in #Kolkata feeling the shockwaves?”
