The number of damaged houses caused by the March 23 earthquake that hit some regions of Tajikistan has now reached 367, the Emergencies Committee under the Government of Tajikistan said on Monday (March 27), citing the commissions working in the areas to assess damage caused by the quake.
Thus, a statement released by the Emergencies Committee says that according to updated data, the quake damaged 318 houses in Paldorak, Yarm, Pakshif, Dehmanora, Dashti Miyona, Rogh, Samjon and Khudgifi Bolo villages in Kuhistoni Mastchoh district of Sughd province.
Of them, four houses were destroyed completely. 53 houses were damaged partially and 261 houses sustained minor damage.
According to the Emergencies Committee, three residents of Paldorak village, two men and one woman, sustained minor injuries.
The March 23 quake reportedly killed 14 heads of cattle, 52 heads of sheep and two horses in Kuhistoni Mastchoh district.
In Rasht district (Rasht Valley in eastern Tajikistan), the commission reportedly inspected 68 houses in Porvogh, Duoba, Saridasht, Tagoba, Mullobadal, Khrikhami and Pojei Poyon villages and concluded that only 32 of them sustained minor damage.
According to findings of inspection of 45 houses in Kalnazar, Kabutiyon, Pandovchi and Tegirmi in Nourobod district (Rasht Valley), 17 houses in the area sustained minor damage.
Recall, a powerful earthquake jolted Tajikistan on March 23 at 1.07 am local time.
According to data from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), an earthquake of 5.9-magnitude at a depth of 6 kilometers occurred in northern Tajikistan, close to the border with western Kyrgyzstan. The epicenter was located approximately 4 kilometers north of Paldarok village in Kuhistoni Mastchoh district of Sughd province.
USGS PAGER estimates that up to 5,000 people were exposed to very strong shaking and 4,000 to strong shaking.
Umeda Yusufi, a spokeswoman for the Emergencies Committee, said in a statement that the quake had a magnitude of 5.0 or 6.0 at its epicenter. It was also felt at lower magnitudes in Dushanbe, the Rasht region (eastern Tajikistan) and the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).
