Strong earthquake hits Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border area

[News_Editor]

Strong earthquake hits Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border area

2011-07-20 08:17:34 GMT+7 (ICT)

BISHKEK (BNO NEWS) -- A strong earthquake struck the southwestern Kyrgyzstan and eastern Uzbekistan border area on early Wednesday morning, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties.

The 6.2-magnitude earthquake at 1.35 a.m. local time (1935 GMT Tuesday) was centered about 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) east of Okhna, a village in the Batken Province of Kyrgyzstan near the border with Uzbekistan. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the Kazakhstan National Data Center (KNDC).

The United States Geological Survey (USGS), which measured the strength of the earthquake at 6.1 on the Richter scale, estimated that some 50,000 people may have felt 'very strong' shaking, which could result in moderate to heavy damage. It estimated that some 7.6 million others may have felt moderate to strong shaking.

Witnesses across the border in Uzbekistan reported feeling strong shaking, but there were no immediate reports from near the epicenter. It was not immediately known if there was damage or if there were casualties.

On October 6, 2008, a strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake struck near the Kyrgyzstan village of Nura, killing at least 74 people and injuring 140 others. It was the country's deadliest earthquake in modern history.

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