Overview

• The earthquake-induced avulsion shifted the river's main channel by approximately 100 kilometers.
• This finding highlights the potential for future seismic activity to impact densely populated regions in Bangladesh.
• Previous assumptions doubted that earthquakes could drive such large-scale river course changes in deltas.
• Researchers identified telltale signs of the ancient quake, including seismites and sand veins in excavated mud layers.
• Modern stress accumulation in regional fault lines suggests similar events could occur, affecting up to 140 million people.