Many are leaving the city for their village homes in fear of recurring earthquakes
The Sylhet City Corporation (SCC) authorities have prepared a list of 25 under-risk buildings and markets in the city.
SCC Mayor Ariful Haque Chowdhury ordered that the buildings and markets under risk remain closed for the next 10 days. Residents of those buildings have also been asked to move away elsewhere.
The mayor along with executive magistrates and police members visited some risky markets in the city on Sunday afternoon and took the decision.
Mayor Arif said that there was a risk of huge damage due to earthquakes in the city.
After learning about the mayor’s directives, the owners and traders of different markets arranged a meeting to determine what to do regarding the matter.
Also, Sylhet Metropolitan Police (SMP) said that two buildings in the city’s Pathantula area of Ward No 8 tilted some two feet towards each other following the tremors on Saturday. However, no such evidence was found on Sunday, said government officials.
Sylhet is located in the plate boundary area near the Dauki Fault.
The tremors
On Saturday, the first tremor struck at 10:36am with a magnitude of 3 in the Richter scale, followed by the aftershocks of 4.1-magnitude at 10:50am, 2.8-magnitude at 11:30am, and 4-magnitude at 1:58pm, according to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD).
But locals claim that they experienced a few more tremors.
There were no reports of serious injuries or damage to any infrastructure, according to the Sylhet Fire Service officials.
At 4:35am on Sunday, another earthquake of magnitude 2.8 on the Richter scale was felt in the city.
People in the city are passing days in panic after at least five small earthquakes were felt within two days. Especially residents of the high-rise buildings are more at risk.
Many residents have left the area and gone to their village homes.
Professor of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (Sust) Dr Mushtaq Ahmad said that the people should not leave the city in fear of earthquakes.
Rather, during earthquakes, they should follow some simple steps like switching off electricity and gas connections, and standing beside a pillar with a pillow on their head, he added.
