Moderate Earthquake In Tajikistan Kills 1, Destroys Buildings

Moderate earthquake in Tajikistan kills 1, destroys buildings < br /> 2012-05-14 08:07:42 GMT+7 (ICT) DUSHANBE, TAJIKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- A moderate earthquake which struck remote towns in a mountainous region of Tajikistan on early Sunday morning has killed at least one person and buried dozens of animals, officials said. A number of buildings were destroyed.The 5.7-magnitude earthquake at 4:28 a.m. local time (2328 GMT Saturday) was centered about 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) southwest of Obikhingou, a small town in a region known as the Districts of Republican Subordination. It struck about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep, making it a shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).The country's Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense confirmed one man was killed when a wall collapsed at his house in a village near the epicenter, but officials were still checking if there were other casualties in the remote region. Several residential houses and other buildings also collapsed, burying more than 20 livestock. The earthquake also caused a landslide in another village, destroying two residential houses and several supporting buildings.The USGS estimates that some 10,000 residents near the epicenter may have felt moderate to strong shaking, while more than 7.1 million people may have felt weak to light shaking. Residents in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, northern Afghanistan and eastern Uzbekistan previously also reported feeling very light shaking.Moderate and strong earthquakes in Tajikistan are relatively rare. The worst earthquake on record in the region happened in October 1907 when a powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the Tajikistan-Uzbekistan border, killing at least 12,000 people. It was followed by another 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Tajikistan's Rushon District in February 1911, killing at least 90 people.Most recently, a relatively light earthquake struck the Khatlon region in southern Tajikistan in July 2006, killing three people and leaving 19 others injured. The earthquake destroyed some 320 buildings and damaged 1,200 more, leaving more than 1,200 people homeless.

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