DUSHANBE, December 8, 2015, Asia-Plus – One person was killed and at least ten others were injured by a strong earthquake that hit the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) on December 7.
“Numerous rockfalls were caused by the quake and resident of the city of Norak Joni Ghaniyev died after a huge rock fell on his truck on the 462nd kilometer of the Dushanbe-Khorog highway,” Orif Nozimov, a spokesman for the Committee on Emergency Situations and Civil Defense (CES), told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“At least 10 people were injured and 60 residential buildings were damaged in the Bartang Valley of Rushan district,” said Nozimov. “Besides, several residential buildings were damaged in the village of Bulunkul in Murgab district. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.”
Rockfalls blocked the Dushanbe-Khorog highway in several places, the spokesman added.
We will recall that the earthquake measuring 7.2 on a 12-point scale hit a sparsely populated area in the Gorno Badakhshan yesterday at 12:50.
The Geophysics Service of Tajikistan’s Academy of Sciences says the epicenter was 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.
The location of the 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.
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.
