Small tremors do not indicate large-scale earthquake
The epicentre of Saturday's earthquake is the Indian state of Meghalaya.
There are many faults including Dauki Fault surrounding Bangladesh and I think small faults are not likely to create large-magnitude earthquakes. These small faults store energy and release it through small-magnitude earthquakes.
However, there are some active faults and if any earthquake originates from an active one, it can create mighty earthquakes. The last earthquake occurred from active Dauki Faults in 1897.
However, all these results are from small-scale studies and it was found that the recurrence period of large earthquakes is between 300-500 years. We could not conduct any detailed studies in the area so it is not possible for us to spot positions of active faults.
We have spotted some active faults including Dauki Fault and Arakan Fault on the Bangladesh-Myanmar border. There are some active faults in the Sylhet area capable to create 6-7-magnitude earthquake.
We understand it is not likely to occur higher-magnitude earthquakes from these epicentres.
We often recommended complying with the rules of the Building Code. The government has to make sure that people, especially in Sylhet, Dhaka and Chattogram city abide by the building codes.
Dr ASM Maksud Kamal, Professor, Department of Disaster Science and Management, Dhaka University