People were shocked as an earthquake jolted the India-Bangladesh border areas in Kolkata at noon.

 

In eastern India's major metropolis Kolkata, a tremor jolted the city and its surrounding areas as an earthquake jolted the city and its surrounding areas at lunchtime.

The Bangladesh Meteorological Department recorded the earthquake's epicentre at 22.51°N, 89.17°E in Asashuni, near Satgira in the country's southwestern Khulna division. The 5.4-magnitude quake struck at 13:52:29 (Bangladesh Standard Time) on February 27, 2026. The epicentre was 188 kilometres from Bangladesh's capital Dhaka.

The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at 5.3 magnitude, with its epicentre 26 kilometres southeast of the border town of Dhaka in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal.

 Alluvial Soil

The Bengal region, which is divided between India's West Bengal and Bangladesh, is not immune to earthquakes, despite being mostly flat, river plains and an alluvial delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system.

In fact, much of eastern India, including Kolkata, is vulnerable to seismic events precisely because alluvial soil amplifies ground vibrations, making even moderate earthquakes feel stronger.

"Alluvial soft soil helps seismic waves travel faster," said O.P. Mishra, director of the National Seismological Centre in New Delhi.