A mild earthquake jolted the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) Monday morning at 8:00 am, according to the Institute of Geology, Seismic Construction and Seismology of the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan.
“In the morning of February 27, at 8:00 am, a tremor measuring 3.0-4.0 on a 12-point scale happened in the GBAO at a depth of 10 kilometers,” an employee of the Institute of Geology, Seismic Construction and Seismology told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to her, the quake was about 46 kilometers of Lake Sarez.
“A 2.0 magnitude earthquake could be felt in the administrative center of GBAO’s Murgab district,” she said.
No damage or injured was reported, according to her.
Tajikistan is highly prone to natural disasters and has a long history of floods, earthquakes, landslides and avalanches.
Recall, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake shook GBAO’s Murgab district early Thursday (February 23), at 5:37 am.
According to the U.S. Geology Survey, it was 67 kilometers west of Murgab’s administrative center and 20 kilometers below ground.
Some residents of GBAO’s Shugnan district say the quake’s epicenter was in the Alichur area of Murgab district.
The seismic activity was strongly felt in other districts of the GBAO and GBAO’s capital, Khorog.
Five aftershocks ranging from magnitude 4.6 to 5 reportedly followed later on Thursday morning, with their epicenters likewise located west of Murgab.
It is to be noted that a mild but long earthquake could be felt in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, as well.
Chinese central television CCTV, citing the China Earthquake Networks Center, reported that an earthquake of about 7.2 magnitude shook Tajikistan early Thursday at a depth of 10 kilometers.
Specialists say measurements by different agencies often differ.
According to CCTV, the quake could be felt across the border in some areas of Kashgar prefecture and Kizilsu Kyrgyz autonomous prefecture in Xinjiang, but no casualties or damage has been reported so far.
Meanwhile, Umeda Yusufi, a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Committee under the Government of Tajikistan, said at the time that a tremor measuring 3.0-4.0 on a 12-point scale happened in GBAO’s Vanj district Thursday early morning.
No damage or injured was reported according to her.
