DUSHANBE, January 3, 2010, Asia-Plus – Quite a strong quake jolted the Vanj district in Gorno Badakhshan on January 2, at 7:15 a.m.
According to the Dushanbe seismological station, a 5.0 magnitude tremor was felt in Vanj and a 4.0 magnitude tremor could be felt in Khorog, the capital of Gorno Badakhshan. The tremor measuring 2.0 on a 12-point scale could be felt in Dushanbe as well.
In the meantime, Azimjon Shamsiddinov, the deputy head of the Vanj district, told Asia-Plus that the most hit villages in the district were Gishkhon and Rogh.
“The quake damaged many residential buildings in these villages and some of them cannot be restored,” said Shamsiddinov, “Fortunately, no human casualties were reported, he added.
A special commission is currently working in the district to estimate the actual damage caused by the earthquake.
In the meantime, Reuters reports that more than 1,000 homes were destroyed in a January 2 earthquake in Tajikistan. A 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook a mountainous area southeast of the capital Dushanbe. There were no casualties as residents left their houses when they felt the first tremors.
