A Comprehensive Case Study on the Historical Earthquakes in Major Fault Zones of Bangladesh

Abstract

An earthquake is a fatal natural disaster that occurs suddenly without any prior signal. Every year the world faces many earthquakes with magnitudes varying from low to high. The uncertain nature of earthquakes makes it almost impossible to predict the exact time of occurrence. So, it is necessary to take precautionary steps before an earthquake hits. To take preventive measures, a proper study of tectonic plates and faults must be done to gain insight into the study area's susceptibility. Due to the geological characteristics and tec-tonic plate activity, Bangladesh risks facing an Earthquake. Every year, Bangladesh also faces some number of earthquakes of different magnitude. This study analyzes the earth-quake events in different fault zone of Bangladesh in the last 49 years. The study showed that the Tripura Fault and Shillong Plateau are the most active among the five major faults. The frequency of these faults is higher than the other ones. Though the past earthquake magnitudes were small, it is still concerning that the Tripura fault and Shillong plateau show much more frequent seismic activities that may indicate a bigger earthquake incident in the near future. The epicenter depth of most earthquakes is within 40 km from the sur-face, which is a concerning issue because most earthquakes are shallow earthquakes that tend to have more damaging properties than deep ones.