Early Friday morning, Kolkata residents suddenly felt their furniture shake as mild tremors hit around 10.10 AM. The trembling lasted just a few seconds, but it was enough to cause a flutter of panic among people and netizens who quickly took to social media to share their experiences. Luckily, no injuries or damage were reported. The German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) revealed that the quake had a magnitude of 5.7 and struck Bangladesh’s Narsingdi region at a shallow depth of 10 km. This is likely why the tremors reached Kolkata, causing the brief shaking. Authorities have yet to provide details on the quake’s intensity in Kolkata and nearby areas. This is not the first time Bangladesh has faced such earth movements. Just last October, a smaller quake of magnitude 3.4 was recorded by the National Centre for Seismology (NCS). Experts explain that shallow earthquakes, like this one, often cause stronger shaking on the surface because seismic waves travel a shorter distance. Did you know an earthquake rocks the world roughly every 30 seconds somewhere? Most go unnoticed as they’re too weak to feel. According to The Daily Star, quoting USGS data, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake releases energy like 6 tons of TNT exploding. Push that to a 5.0 magnitude, and it’s like 200 tons of TNT! The energy power zooms up drastically with each step: a 7.0 quake packs nearly 199,000 tons of TNT, while a feared 9.0 quake is like 99 million tons — roughly 25,000 nuclear bombs detonating! That’s an earth-shaking blast! Why is Bangladesh such an earthquake hotspot? The country sits at the busy crossroads where three huge tectonic plates meet — the Indian, Eurasian, and Burma plates. The Indian plate slides northeast at about 6 centimeters per year, while the Eurasian plate moves northward at 2 centimeters per year. This tectonic dance creates many fault lines, like the Bogura, Tripura, Shillong Plateau, Dauki, and Assam faults. Bangladesh is split into 13 earthquake-prone zones, with places like Chattogram, the Chattogram Hill Tracts, and Jaintiapur in Sylhet facing the highest risks. Adding to the challenge, Dhaka — the capital city crowded with more than 30,000 people per square kilometer — is one of the densest in the world. The Daily Star also ranks Dhaka among the 20 most earthquake-vulnerable cities globally, raising concern about disaster preparedness in this mega city. So next time you feel a tiny shake or rattle, remember the powerful forces beneath our feet, shaping the land and reminding us of nature's unpredictable power. Stay alert, stay safe! (With ANI inputs)