Caption: An earthquake of about 7.2 magnitude shakes Tajikistan at around 8:37am on February 23, 2023. Photo: from China Earthquake Networks Center

 

A 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck Tajikistan on Thursday and was strongly felt in parts of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region as the epicenter was only 82 kilometers away from the nearest border with China.

The seismic activity occurred at 8:37 am at a depth of 10 kilometers, the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC) reported on Thursday. 

The Chinese Embassy in Tajikistan said on Thursday that it hasn't received information about injured or dead Chinese citizens in Tajikistan due to the earthquake as of press time.

The railway service from Aksu to Kashi has been suspended as the railway department in Xinjiang region inspects rail tracks, bridges, tunnels and signal equipment across the regional network. Ten trains have been affected as of 9:30 am.

The emergency department in Xinjiang region said the earthquake was strongly felt in Kashi Prefecture in Xinjiang and there has been no report of casualties or property  damage, CCTV reported.

Some netizens from the city of Kashi and Shache, as well as the Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in Kashi Prefecture posted on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo saying that they were shaken from their sleep and were quite frightened. There were also netizens saying they could strongly feel the earthquake in Artux City and Akto County of the Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture.

According to CENC, there were 10 major or medium-sized cities within 300 kilometers of the epicenter with the city of Khorog at its nearest, about 162 kilometers away. The average elevation within 5 kilometers of the epicenter is about 4,655 meters.