Many feared dead as 6.8-magnitude earthquake hits eastern Tajikistan

Many residents of Gorno-Badakhshan, a semi-autonomous eastern region in Tajikistan, are feared dead after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck the city that borders Afghanistan and China.

According to the US Geological Survey, the earthquake struck on Thursday around 5:37 am local time (0037 GMT) at a depth of about 20.5 kilometres (12.7 miles).

The USGS said the epicentre of the quake was about 67 kilometres from the small mountain town of Murghob.

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“A 5.0-magnitude aftershock hit the area about 20 minutes after the initial quake, followed by a 4.6-magnitude quake,” the USGS said.

Tajikistan, like much of the rest of Central Asia, is highly prone to natural disasters and has a long history of floods, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches and heavy snowfalls.

On February 15, nine people were killer in an avalanche in Gorno-Badakhshan, while another person was killed the same day in another avalanche on a highway near the capital Dushanbe.

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