Powerful earthquake kills 13 in Uzbekistan
Source: Agencies |
July 21, 2011, Thursday
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A POWERFUL earthquake killed at least 13 people in Uzbekistan yesterday and damaged buildings in Central Asia's densely populated Ferghana valley, sending residents onto the streets in panic.
Uzbekistan's Emergencies Ministry, citing preliminary data, said the victims were killed when the quake destroyed their homes in several towns and villages.
Residents on either side of the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan reported prolonged, violent shaking in the early hours of the morning that cracked the walls of their homes.
Eighty-six people were treated for injuries and 35 taken to hospital, the ministry said in a statement. In Tajikistan, one man died after jumping from his window, officials said.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.1 earthquake had its epicenter 18 kilometers underground about 42 kilometers southwest of Ferghana, a city in the east of Uzbekistan close to the Kyrgyz border.
"Everybody was afraid. Everything was shaking," Dilaffrus Muminova, a Ferghana resident, told Reuters by telephone. "It lasted two or three minutes, if not more."
The Ferghana valley straddles three countries and is the most densely populated part of Central Asia, a strategic but earthquake-prone region between Russia, China and Afghanistan. The valley is a patchwork of Soviet-era borders that cut across nationalities, leaving it prone to periodic bouts of ethnic violence. Widespread poverty has also contributed to a growing trend of radical Islam in the region.
In June 2010, more than 400 people were killed during several days of clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in and around Osh, the largest city in southern Kyrgyzstan. At the height of the violence, about 400,000 people fled their homes.
"God is punishing us for what we are doing," said Ismat, a resident of the Kyrgyz city of Batken, close to the Uzbek border.
He said cracks were visible in the walls of the city's houses, although he had not seen any buildings collapse. "People were on the streets all night. There was a lot of panic."
Tajikistan's Health Ministry said a resident of the northern city of Khujand, Abdullo Ashparov, died after leaping from a window in his second-storey apartment during the quake. No other casualties or destruction were reported in Tajikistan.
The Ferghana Valley is a major center of cotton and silk production, and the hills above are covered by walnut forests.
Local residents also reported the destruction of low-rise housing in the nearby town of Margilan, a silk production center.
Uzbekistan's Emergencies Ministry, citing preliminary data, said the victims were killed when the quake destroyed their homes in several towns and villages.
Residents on either side of the border between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan reported prolonged, violent shaking in the early hours of the morning that cracked the walls of their homes.
Eighty-six people were treated for injuries and 35 taken to hospital, the ministry said in a statement. In Tajikistan, one man died after jumping from his window, officials said.
The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 6.1 earthquake had its epicenter 18 kilometers underground about 42 kilometers southwest of Ferghana, a city in the east of Uzbekistan close to the Kyrgyz border.
"Everybody was afraid. Everything was shaking," Dilaffrus Muminova, a Ferghana resident, told Reuters by telephone. "It lasted two or three minutes, if not more."
The Ferghana valley straddles three countries and is the most densely populated part of Central Asia, a strategic but earthquake-prone region between Russia, China and Afghanistan. The valley is a patchwork of Soviet-era borders that cut across nationalities, leaving it prone to periodic bouts of ethnic violence. Widespread poverty has also contributed to a growing trend of radical Islam in the region.
In June 2010, more than 400 people were killed during several days of clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in and around Osh, the largest city in southern Kyrgyzstan. At the height of the violence, about 400,000 people fled their homes.
"God is punishing us for what we are doing," said Ismat, a resident of the Kyrgyz city of Batken, close to the Uzbek border.
He said cracks were visible in the walls of the city's houses, although he had not seen any buildings collapse. "People were on the streets all night. There was a lot of panic."
Tajikistan's Health Ministry said a resident of the northern city of Khujand, Abdullo Ashparov, died after leaping from a window in his second-storey apartment during the quake. No other casualties or destruction were reported in Tajikistan.
The Ferghana Valley is a major center of cotton and silk production, and the hills above are covered by walnut forests.
Local residents also reported the destruction of low-rise housing in the nearby town of Margilan, a silk production center.
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