Several Earthquakes Hit Tajikistan, Delhi
At least 104 households were toppled after three earthquakes struck Tajikistan over the weekend. India's was also hit with temblors Tuesday morning. No death was reported.
Orif Nozimov, press service head of Tajikistan's Emergency Situations Committee, reported the temblor has damaged 256 buildings.
Tajikistan is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. It borders Kyrgyzstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, China to the east and Afghanistan to the south. Mountains cover more than 90 percent of the republic.
On Sunday, two earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 struck south of the capital of Dushanbe while the third one, a 4.0 magnitude quake, occurred early Monday, shaking the same area.
"The epicenter of the tremors was in the Rudaki district, 21 to 26 kilometres southeast of Dushanbe. Some 104 houses were totally destroyed and 256 partially," Nozimov told journalists.
In most former Soviet states, earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.0 to 5.9 are already considered light to moderate, RIA Novosti reported. Such magnitude can already create major damage to poorly constructed buildings in small areas.
Meanwhile, at least four earthquakes shook Delhi and its neighboring areas early Tuesday morning.
The first temblor occurred 12.30 a.m. (local time) in Delhi. It measured 3.1 on the Richter scale at a depth of 10 kilometers.
"The epicenter of the earthquake feels to be in the national capital territory. However, we are still analysing the data," an India Meteorological Department official said.
Three tremors followed, measured at 3.3, 2.5 and 2.8 magnitudes at 1.41 a.m., 1.55 a.m. and 3.40 a.m.
"We are analyzing the data, however, the epicenter is still not clear," the official added.
Netizens immediately took to Twitter to report the tremors.
Delhi people stay safe. #Earthquake #India
— ASY (@chaandbeti) November 11, 2013
Epicenter of minor earthquake in Delhi - three tremors so far. Hope that was it. pic.twitter.com/EdG1YWG6Br
— Shivam Vij (@DilliDurAst) November 11, 2013