On the morning of November 21, 2025, Bangladesh was rocked by a powerful earthquake, sending shockwaves of panic and destruction through the densely populated nation. The tremor, which struck at 10:38 am local time with its epicenter in Madhabdi, Narsingdi—just about 33 kilometers from the bustling capital of Dhaka—left a trail of devastation that the country is still scrambling to address.
According to reports from the Dhaka Tribune and AFP, the earthquake registered a magnitude of 5.7 on the Bangladesh Meteorological Department’s scale, while the US Geological Survey measured it at 5.5. The shaking lasted for 26 seconds, a period that, for many, felt like an eternity. The timing was especially unfortunate: Friday is a day off for most in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country of 170 million, meaning families were at home, and public spaces were bustling.
The human toll has been grim. By Saturday, disaster management officials confirmed that at least 10 people had died, and more than 300 were injured. The breakdown of casualties paints a harrowing picture of the quake’s impact across several districts. In Dhaka, four people lost their lives, including three pedestrians in Armanitola who were crushed when a building railing collapsed, and a security guard in Mugda. Hospitals in the city treated around 66 people for injuries, some of them serious.
Narsingdi, the epicenter’s district, suffered five deaths, including a father and son from Chinishpur Union. Here, 58 people received medical care, with several listed in critical condition. Tragedy also struck Narayanganj, where a 10-month-old infant died after a wall collapsed, injuring the child’s mother and another person. In Gazipur, the chaos led to a stampede at a garment factory, resulting in injuries to more than 150 workers, underscoring how panic often compounds the devastation wrought by natural disasters.
Much of the trauma, as officials and witnesses recounted, stemmed from fear and confusion. As the ground began to shake, people fled buildings and workplaces en masse. According to News.Az, AFP reporters in Dhaka saw people weeping and wandering the streets in shock. The interim government’s press office reported that at least 14 buildings were damaged, and a fire broke out at a power station—though firefighters were able to bring it under control before it could claim more lives or infrastructure.
The government’s response was swift. Emergency control rooms were activated, and the Bangladesh Emergency Operation Centre swung into action to assess the scale of the damage and coordinate rescue and relief efforts. Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, who was selected to head the country after a mass uprising toppled the previous government, issued a statement expressing his "deep shock and sorrow over the news of casualties in various districts." He assured the public that the government was taking "all necessary measures" and that "all relevant departments have been directed to immediately go to the field to assess any possible damages."
The sense of vulnerability was palpable. Bangladesh’s Meteorological Department has long warned of the country’s susceptibility to earthquakes due to its geographic position. Rubayet Kabir of the department’s Earthquake Observation and Research Centre told AFP, "There has been no massive earthquake in the last 100 years or more, but Bangladesh has been vulnerable for quite some time." Aftershocks are to be expected, he noted, and indeed, on the morning of November 22, a minor tremor of magnitude 3.3 was recorded in Ashulia, just north of Dhaka. For many, this aftershock only deepened their anxiety. "I don’t feel safe yet, as there was another jolt this morning in Ashulia. Maybe we are next," said Shahnaj Parvin, a resident near the epicenter, who described cracks developing in dozens of houses in her area.
Personal accounts from residents captured the terror and confusion that gripped the city. Shadman Sakif Islam, a Dhaka resident, told Al Jazeera, "Small ripples I noticed in my coffee were followed by a massive shake that started occurring without any warning as the earth shook. My chair and the table started shaking wildly, and I was stuck there for 10-15 seconds without processing what was going on." He added, "I never felt anything like this in my whole life … I felt like riding on a boat, riding massive waves one after another."
Al Jazeera correspondent Tanvir Chowdhury, reporting from Dhaka, observed, "It was one of the biggest earthquakes in recent history and was very close to the capital city. The entire city was in panic." The tremor’s reach extended well beyond Bangladesh’s borders, with reports confirming that shaking was felt as far away as Kolkata, India—over 325 kilometers from the epicenter. Thankfully, there were no immediate reports of casualties or significant damage in India.
For those caught in the quake, the aftermath has been a mix of fear, grief, and uncertainty. Many injuries were reportedly caused not by falling debris, but by the panic that swept through crowds as people rushed to escape buildings. The government has urged the public to seek help if needed and has promised continued vigilance as aftershocks remain a possibility.
The earthquake also comes at a politically sensitive time. Interim leader Muhammad Yunus, an 85-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, is steering the nation toward elections scheduled for February 2026. The government’s handling of the disaster is likely to be closely scrutinized, especially as Bangladesh’s urban infrastructure faces renewed questions about its resilience in the face of natural calamities.
In the days since the quake, emergency teams have fanned out across the affected districts, evaluating structural damage, providing medical care, and supporting families who have lost loved ones or homes. The activation of emergency control rooms and rapid deployment of disaster response teams has been crucial, but the long-term recovery—both physical and psychological—will undoubtedly take much longer.
Bangladesh’s recent experience is a sobering reminder of the persistent threat posed by earthquakes in the region. While the country has not faced a truly massive quake in over a century, the events of November 21 have exposed vulnerabilities and tested the resilience of both people and institutions. As aftershocks continue and the nation mourns its dead, the focus now shifts to rebuilding and learning from the tragedy, hoping that the lessons of 2025 will help avert even greater disasters in the future.
