Earthquakes in Uzbekistan cause panic
Many Tashkent residents spent yesterday evening outdoors, in
fearful expectation of a repeat of earthquakes that hit the
city on 25 and 26 May.
When the excitement had almost abated the day after a strong
earthquake hit Uzbekistan on the night of 24-25 May, another
earthquake took place with its epicenter in Bulungur
district of Samarkand Region at 11:08.
According to the US Geological Survey, it was a 6.0
magnitude earthquake. The Institute of Seismology of the
Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan reported its magnitude as
6.2 and the European Mediterranean Seismology Centre as 6.5.
In Samarkand and Jizak, the magnitude of the earthquake
reached 5.0; in Tashkent about 3.0.
The earthquake sparked off a spate of rumors regarding
possible new tremors, which would cause unprecedented
destruction.
For instance, on Sunday afternoon in the Askiya market
rumors spread among sellers and buyers that another strong
earthquake would hit the city at 20:00.
As a result, in the late afternoon, crowds of people could
be seen sitting on benches in front of their apartment
blocks.
According to a woman who lives in Tashkent’s Chilanzar
district, who wished to remain anonymous, a hospital where
one of her relatives works received a telephone message from
the Emergency Situations Ministry about the need to increase
readiness.
In the Lisunov residential area in the capital’s Hamza
district, according to rumors, officers from the Emergency
Situations Ministry visited apartments at about 16:00 to
warn people about a strong earthquake that might take place
within the next hour and asked everyone to remain outside.
As a result, frightened people crowded the yards of
apartment blocks.
Meanwhile, in response to Uznews.net’s telephone inquiry,
the Emergency Situations Ministry gave the assurance that
this was “false information”.
According to the website Uz24.uz, a number of social
networks have rumors that the country's emergency rescue
services are on high alert ready for a strong earthquake to
hit Tashkent on 1 June.
Residents of Samarkand were also prepared for new
earthquakes and many of them spent Sunday outdoors.
Similar rumors about future powerful earthquakes are not new
in Uzbekistan - they arise each time there is a relatively
strong earthquake.
This occurred in Tashkent after a 5-6 magnitude earthquake
in August 2008. Another spate of rumors spread across
Uzbekistan in July 2011 after a devastating tremor in the
Fergana region.
These rumors do not have any scientific basis. Up until now,
leading scientists in the USA, Germany, and Japan have
remained unable to determine earthquakes in advance.
“This question is even more important for Japan, but
earthquakes continue to occur, killing people and causing
mass destruction, without anyone being able to predict them
in advance,” an engineer from the Tashkent seismologic
station, Dilorom Irgasheva, said.
Uznews.net
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