DUSHANBE, April 11, 2016, Asia-Plus – A strong earthquake hit northern Afghanistan close to its border with Tajikistan yesterday afternoon.
According to the Committee for Emergency Situations and Civil Defense (CES) under the Government of Tajikistan, an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Righter scale took place yesterday at 3:28 pm in Afghan territory some 300 kilometers southeast of Dushanbe.
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake could be felt in Dushanbe and a magnitude 3.0 earthquake could be felt in Khujand, the capital of the northern province of Sughd, the source said.
Meanwhile, a strong earthquake could be felt in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). According to some sources, people rushed outside from their homes in some areas of the region.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) says an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale jolted 39 km off Ashkasham of northeastern Afghanistan”s Badakhshan province on Sunday afternoon. The epicenter, with a depth of 210.42 km, was initially determined to be at 36.492 degrees north latitude and 71.1563 degrees east longitude.
The tremor’s epicenter was reportedly 48 kilometers of Ishkashim in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan.
According to international media sources, strong tremors were also felt in Afghan capital Kabul as well as in Pakistan and India.
Xinhua
reports that Pakistan”s meteorological department said the quake’s was determined at the Hindu Kush Mountain range, located along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The quake reportedly created panic among residents, but no loss of life or property has been reported yet.
BBC
reports that Pakistani emergency officials say that at least one person died in Pakistan”s Swat region, with another 30 injured.
There were no reports of significant damage, but a spokesman for Pakistan”s National Disaster Management Authority said there was a high risk of landslides.
We will recall that in October 2015, a magnitude-7.5 quake in the same border area killed close to 300 people.
The USGS says the earthquake took place in “one of the most seismically hazardous regions on earth”.
Pakistan”s
Dawn
newspaper reported on Saturday that the region had been shaken by a series of strong quakes centered on Hindu Kush in recent days.
