DUSHANBE, December 7, 2015, Asia-Plus – A strong earthquake has hit a sparsely populated area in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).
The Geophysics Service of Tajikistan’s Academy of Sciences says an earthquake measuring 7.2 on a 12-point scale hit a sparsely populate area in Gorno Badakhshan on December 7 at about 12:50.
The epicenter was reportedly 93 kilometers west of the settlement of Murgab, the administrative center of GBAO’s Murgab district, 138 kilometers northeast of Khorog, the capital of Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region and 357 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The location of the December 7 earthquake was reportedly close (only 22 kilometers) to Lake Sarez, which was formed in February 1911 when a nearby M 7.3 earthquake dammed the Murgab River.
A tremor measuring 3.0-4.0 on the 12-point scale could be felt in Dushanbe as well, according to the Geophysics Service.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Geological Survey said the December 7 earthquake was measured at a magnitude of 7.2, adding that the epicenter was 345 kilometers east of Tajikistan”s capital, Dushanbe.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the quake was felt as far away as the Indian capital, New Delhi, as well as in Afghanistan and in Pakistan.
The December 7 M7.2 earthquake in Tajikistan occurred as the result of strike-slip faulting within the crust of the Eurasia plate. Over the past century, 18 other earthquakes of M 6.5 or larger have occurred within 250 kilometers of the December 7, 2015 earthquake. Given the remoteness of the region, earthquakes here rarely cause shaking-related fatalities (though secondary hazards such as landsliding have caused both damage and fatalities in the past), the Geological Survey said.
We will recall that a powerful earthquake measuring 5.0-6.0 on a 12-point scale hit Dushanbe on October 26 at 2:09 pm. The tremor could also be felt in Khatlon province, Rasht Valley (eastern Tajikistan) and the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). A staircase at School # 45 in Khatlon’s Yovon district collapsed, injuring 14 children. There were also reports of injuries in a stampede at Khorog State University in Gorno Badakhshan, as a building was evacuated.
The October 26 earthquake’s epicenter was in Afghanistan. At least 398 people were killed by the October 25 earthquake in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
