Massive Myanmar quake rattles Bangladeshi people's nerves

DHAKA, April 13 (Xinhua) -- People in Bangladeshi capital Dhaka and elsewhere got panicked by a powerful earthquake which jolted neighboring Myanmar and parts of the region Wednesday evening.

Panicked people were seen to rush outdoors for safety all around the city following the foreshocks and aftershocks of the quake, measuring reportedly 6.9 magnitude, which hit northwest Myanmar.

Police and fire officials said there had been no reports of big damage so far.

Scores of people have reportedly been injured as many with panic rushed out of their residences for safety in Dhaka and other parts of the country.

Cellphone networks suffered disruption for several minutes in the country.

The 6.9 magnitude quake reportedly struck at a depth of 135 kilometers (84 miles), 396 kilometers (246 miles) north of Myanmar's capital Nay Pyi Taw.

A meteorologist of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department told Xinhua that the earthquake, with its epicenter hundreds of kilometers to the southeast of Dhaka, struck almost the entire country at about 7:55 p.m. local time.

It rolled across Dhaka, rattling nerves and shaking buildings.

Bangladesh, which sits on the zone of earthquake, is prone to tremors and experts have predicted a major earthquake in the near future.

The Earthquake Disaster Risk Index of Stanford University ranks Bangladesh's capital Dhaka among the 20 cities most vulnerable to earthquakes in the world.