No casualties after strong earthquake jolts Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border area

No casualties after strong earthquake jolts Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan border area

2011-07-20 18:06:35 GMT+7 (ICT)

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

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.

But the Emergency Situations Ministry for Kadamzhay District told the 24 news agency that there were no reports of serious damage or casualties. "Structural damages caused by today's earthquake that happened in southern Kyrgyzstan at 1.35 a.m. is insignificant," the ministry said.

He added: "Civil protection commissions are inspecting every house. We created a special headquarters under the district administration where citizens can report about damages. We haven't received information about injured people."

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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