video | A strong earthquake shakes Tajikistan and reaches parts of China, and there are fears of catastrophic consequences

Weather of Arabia - An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale struck, Thursday morning, an area near the border between Tajikistan and the Chinese region of Xinjiang, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Center.

The China Earthquake Networks Center also reported that an earthquake was recorded at around 8:37 am local time in Beijing, about 82 km from the nearest point from the border with Tajikistan.

Moments of panic after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake in #Tajikistan near the border with #China

The epicenter of the earthquake occurred in Gorno-Badakhshan, a semi-autonomous region located in eastern Tajikistan, on the border with Afghanistan and China. #tajikistan #earthquake pic.twitter.com/uSZh9gG5Tb

- Erem News - Erm News (@EremNews) February 23, 2023

For its part, the US Geological Survey announced that the magnitude of the earthquake was 6.8 degrees, noting that its epicenter is located at a depth of more than 20 kilometers, in Gorno-Badakhshan, a semi-autonomous region located in eastern Tajikistan on the borders with both Afghanistan and China.

She added that her estimates indicate that "a small to no population" is exposed to landslides as a result of this earthquake, noting that the region was subjected to two aftershocks of magnitude 5 and 4.6, about 20 minutes after the initial tremor.

Warnings of catastrophic consequences

The area hit by the earthquake has no population density, and it is surrounded by the towering Pamir Mountains, but it has Sarez Lake, which means that large areas are threatened with flooding in a number of countries.

Sarez, which was formed as a result of an earthquake in 1911, is one of the largest lakes in Tajikistan. Behind Lake Sarez, in the heart of the Pamir Mountains, there is a natural dam. Experts warn that the consequences will be catastrophic if this dam collapses.

Tajikistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia, highly prone to natural disasters and with a history of earthquakes and avalanches. On February 15, at least nine people were killed in an avalanche in the Gorno-Badakhshan region, while one person was killed in a separate avalanche near the capital, Dushanbe.