A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Tajikistan on Thursday, the US Geological Survey’s seismological institute said.
The quake occurred at around 5:37 a.m. local time (0:37 a.m. GMT) at a depth of about 20.5 kilometers.
The USGS estimated that “little or no residents experienced landslides” from the quake.
The epicenter appears to be in Gorno-Badakhshan, a semi-autonomous region in the east of the country that borders Afghanistan and China, about 67 kilometers from the small mountain town of Murgup.
Aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 shook the area about 20 minutes after the initial quake, followed by a tremor of magnitude 4.6.
France Press agency
This sparsely populated region is surrounded by the towering Pamir Mountains and is home to Sarez Lake.
Aquamarine Lake was formed as a result of an earthquake in 1911, and it is one of the largest lakes in Tajikistan.
Behind Lake Sarez, in the heart of the Pamir Mountains, lies a natural dam, and experts have warned the consequences would be catastrophic if it were breached.
Tajikistan – like most of Central Asia – is highly vulnerable to natural disasters and is frequently subject to floods, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches and heavy snowfall.
Nine people died in an avalanche on February 15 in Gorno-Badakhshan. Another person was killed on the same day in an avalanche on a highway near the capital, Dushanbe.
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