4.1-magnitude earthquake hits Bangladesh

Dhaka, Dec 4 (PTI) A mild earthquake of magnitude 4.1 shook Bangladesh early Thursday, with tremors felt in the capital Dhaka and neighbouring districts.

The quake hit at 6:14 am local time, with the epicentre located at a depth of 30 km in Narsingdi, news portal tbsnews.net reported, quoting the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre.

There were no reports of damage or casualties.

Given the quake's shallow depth, residents in Dhaka and surrounding districts felt only a light tremor, the report said.

Bangladesh faces a high risk of major earthquakes as it lies at the junction of three tectonic plates -- the Indian, Myanmar and Eurasian plates, according to The Daily Star newspaper.

Last month, a stronger 5.7-magnitude quake caused 10 deaths and significant damage, mostly in central parts of the country including Dhaka and Narsingdi.

Dhaka is considered one of the world’s 20 most earthquake-vulnerable cities with its very dense population and huge number of dilapidated buildings, many of them being in old part of the capital.

The region has a long history of powerful earthquakes, with five major tremors between 1869 and 1930 measuring above 7.0 on the Richter scale. PTI SCY SCY