A strong earthquake hit south-east Kazakhstan late in the evening of June 13. Its epicentre was near Tekeli in the Almaty region 230 kilometres north-east of Almaty. At the epicentre the shocks measured 5.5 points on the Richter scale.
According to preliminary assessments, hundreds of residents were left without shelter. Underground shocks were felt in Taldykorgan and in Almaty. Lesser shocks were also recorded in Kyrgyzstan.
The most seriously damaged buildings in Tekeli were three two-story eight-flat residential buildings built in 1949, a home for the elderly, a private hotel, a sports facility and High School No. 1. The school was set to undergo major renovations including seismic retro-fitting. Almost 300 residential one-story privately owned homes also suffered varying degress of damage. Over the past few days, almost 250 statements from victims asking authorities for assistance have been received by the city administration.
During his visit to the city after the earthquake, Almaty region Governor Serik Umbetov promised to provide aid and asked that there be no turmoil or panic. He assured residents that as soon as the state commission issues its conclusions, authorities would immediately begin repairs and also assured that no one would be left without a roof over his head. The region's governor ordered that 18 families from three residential buildings be placed in a recently completely renovated 37-flat residential building in Tekeli.
A republic commission, which includes experts from the National Institute of Seismology and other republic and regional agencies, will assess the damage.
The last time there was an earthquake measuring six points in Tekeli was 1993, but it did not cause this level of destruction. Kazakhstan's Almaty region is located in a seismically active zone. In 1911, an extremely strong earthquake measuring ten points practically destroyed the city of Almaty, called Verny at the time.
According to preliminary assessments, hundreds of residents were left without shelter. Underground shocks were felt in Taldykorgan and in Almaty. Lesser shocks were also recorded in Kyrgyzstan.
The most seriously damaged buildings in Tekeli were three two-story eight-flat residential buildings built in 1949, a home for the elderly, a private hotel, a sports facility and High School No. 1. The school was set to undergo major renovations including seismic retro-fitting. Almost 300 residential one-story privately owned homes also suffered varying degress of damage. Over the past few days, almost 250 statements from victims asking authorities for assistance have been received by the city administration.
During his visit to the city after the earthquake, Almaty region Governor Serik Umbetov promised to provide aid and asked that there be no turmoil or panic. He assured residents that as soon as the state commission issues its conclusions, authorities would immediately begin repairs and also assured that no one would be left without a roof over his head. The region's governor ordered that 18 families from three residential buildings be placed in a recently completely renovated 37-flat residential building in Tekeli.
A republic commission, which includes experts from the National Institute of Seismology and other republic and regional agencies, will assess the damage.
The last time there was an earthquake measuring six points in Tekeli was 1993, but it did not cause this level of destruction. Kazakhstan's Almaty region is located in a seismically active zone. In 1911, an extremely strong earthquake measuring ten points practically destroyed the city of Almaty, called Verny at the time.
source: http://www.centralasiaonline.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment