NEW DELHI (INDIA) – After intense tremors from a quake in the central Asian nation of Tajikistan were felt in North India on Friday night, Indian authorities on Saturday said there were no initial reports of critical damage to buildings and infrastructure, or casualties. Strong tremors were felt by residents in the northern states of India and in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The US Geological Survey put the quake’s magnitude at 5.9 and centred 35 km (55 miles) west of Tajikistan in central Asia.
“Preliminary reports suggest there has been no destruction or building collapse but we will examine whether cracks have developed in dams, bridges or power plants,” said SK Singh, an official at the National Disaster Management Authority in New Delhi.
No casualties have been reported so far, he said, adding that the tremors lasted for a long time which had the potential to damage some parts of residential and public properties.
