Several Central Asian countries jolted by powerful quake
BISHKEK/DUSHANBE/TASHKENT/ALMATY. May 3 (Interfax) - An earthquake measuring 7 points on the 12-point MSK-64 scale was recorded in southern Kyrgyzstan at 10:47 a.m. local time on Wednesday, a spokesman for the Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Ministry told Interfax on Wednesday.
The Seismology Institute of the Kyrgyz National Academy of Sciences reported citing preliminary findings that the quake originated in Tajikistan, not far from the Kyrgyz-Tajik border, 47 kilometers southwest of the village of Karamyk (the Osh region in southern Kyrgyzstan), 120 kilometers southeast of Batken (in southern Kyrgyzstan), and 192 kilometers southwest of Osh.
"The quake intensity reached 4-5 points in Kyrgyz populated localities; there have been no damage reports as of yet," the spokesman said. He did not say whether the quake could have caused any casualties.
The quake was quite strong in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, and tenants of high-rise buildings said they saw ceiling lamps swinging.
The Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Ministry said ten homes were damaged and became dangerous for living in southern Kyrgyzstan.
"The quake turned ten homes uninhabitable in the village of Karamyk in the Chon-Alai district of the Osh region (in the country's south). The building of the local outpatient clinic cannot be used either," a ministry spokesman said.
A school and a kindergarten were also damaged in Karamyk, the spokesman said. "A man was buried under a barn wall that fell on him during the quake in another village of this district, Chuluk. He was rescued by local residents," he said.
"Two girls left behind in a house have received medical attendance. They are terrified but their condition is fair," he said.
The Kyrgyz Emergency Situations Ministry continues to assess the quake aftermath, the spokesman said.
The Geophysical Service of the Tajik Academy of Sciences, for its part, told Interfax that Tajikistan experienced two quakes within one minute starting at 9:47 a.m. local time on May 3. The quake epicenter was located 265 kilometers northeast of Dushanbe, near the Tajik-Kyrgyz border. The first quake measured 4-5 points and the second 6 points at the epicenter. In Dushanbe, the quake measured 3 points. There have been no casualty or damage reports as of yet.
Tremors were also felt in Uzbekistan.
The Tashkent seismological station said the tremors reached 3-3.5 points in the Uzbek capital Tashkent, 4.5 points in Farg'ona (Fergana), and 4 points in Andijon and Namangan.
The seismologists said the epicenter was situated in Tajik territory, 295 kilometers northeast of Tashkent, where the quake measured 5.9 points.
The Uzbek Emergency Situations Ministry reported tentatively that the quake did not cause casualties or damage in Uzbekistan.
Kazakhstan felt the quake, too.
Kazakh seismologists reported that the epicenter of the 14.3-energy-class quake was five kilometers under the ground, 613 kilometers southwest of Almaty.
Kazakhstan felt the tremors in the village of Merke in the southern Zhambyl region (3-4 points) and Almaty (2 points).