DUSHANBE, October 6, 2008, Asia-Plus — An earthquake measuring 3.0-4.0 on a 12-point scale jolted Dushanbe on October 5 at around 9:53 p.m., according to the Dushanbe seismological station.
The quake, centered near the borders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China, could also be felt in other regions of Tajikistan. In Khorog, capital of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (Gorno Badakhshan or GBAO), the magnitude was reported at 4.5
In the epicenter, the Dushanbe seismological center cited the magnitude as 6.0-6.5. According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), in Tajikistan, the nearest area to the tremor’s epicenter was Karakul in GBAO’s Murgab district, some 50 kilometers.
The source at the Committee for Emergency Situations (CES) said that no inured or damage has been reported so far.
According to some international media, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit near the borders of Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and China Sunday, ratting nearly 35 kilometers of the Central Asian landscape, the Reuters news agency reported.
A strong earthquake hit China”s remote northwestern region of Xinjiang early on Monday, Xinhua reported. The quake, which the USUSGS put at magnitude 5.7, happened at about midnight local time near China”s western border with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. According to the USGS”s website, it occurred about 20 minutes after a stronger quake that struck nearby in Kyrgyzstan. Xinhua said that people in Kashgar, Xinjiang, some 180 kilometers away, were able to feel the quake.
In the meantime, the Dushanbe seismological center said it was the second quake yesterday that could be felt in Tajikistan. The first one occurred yesterday at around 1:28 p.m. Magnitude of the tremor, centered some 143 kilometers northeast of Dushanbe, was reported at 3.0 on a 12-point scale and 4.0 in Gharm, administrative center of the Rasht district in eastern Tajikistan.
Earthquakes are frequent occurrences in Central Asia. Tremors with a magnitude over 6 are considered strong and are capable of severe damage.
In 1966, the Uzbek capital Tashkent was flattened by a 7.5 earthquake when hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. According to Reuters, a 6.0 magnitude quake on the 12-level rocked Tashkent this August but there was no damage.
