6.8 magnitude earthquake jolts eastern Tajikistan-China border
What's the story
A 6.8 magnitude earthquake rocked eastern Tajikistan near the border with China on Thursday, as per the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC).
Meanwhile, Chinese state media CCTV stated that the quake was roughly 7.3 magnitude and happened around 8:37 am (local time) near the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China and Tajikistan.
As per reports, the quake struck at a depth of 20.5 kilometers.
Details
Details on quake's epicenter
The quake's epicenter is said to be in Gorno-Badakhshan, a semi-autonomous eastern province that borders China and Afghanistan, approximately 67 kilometers from Murghob.
The initial earthquake was followed by a 5.0 magnitude aftershock in Murghob nearly 20 minutes later, followed by another 4.6 magnitude earthquake.
Mughrob, the district capital, has a population of a few thousand people high in Tajikistan's Pamir Mountains.
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Natural disasters and Tajikistan: Know more
Tajikistan is highly vulnerable to natural disasters, with a long history of floods, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, and heavy snowfalls.
On February 15, nine people were killed in an avalanche in the country's Gorno-Badakhshan region.
Furthermore, the news agency AFP reported that one more died on the same day in a separate avalanche on a highway close to the capital Dushanbe.
Further details
Recent devastating quakes in Syria and Turkey
This incident comes after a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Syria-Turkey border area on Monday.
The fresh jolts came exactly two weeks after a destructive quake jolted the region.
On February 6, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake rocked the region, killing over 46,000 people in both countries.
According to authorities, over 6,000 aftershocks were recorded between the quakes two weeks ago and Monday's tremors.
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Death count in Syra, Turkey goes up
According to Turkey's disaster management agency on Wednesday, six people died in Monday's quake, and approximately 300 were left injured.
Meanwhile, pro-government media outlets announced that a woman and a girl lost their lives in Syria in the provinces of Tartus and Hama, with numerous reports of people allegedly jumping off buildings to escape, reported the news outlet USA Today.