NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Indian officials said on Saturday that there were no initial reports of critical damage to buildings and infrastructure, or casualties, in their northern states after intense earthquakes in the central Asian country, the Tajikistan on Friday night.
The US Geological Survey calculated the magnitude of the earthquake at 5.9 and centered 35 km (55 miles) west of Tajikistan in Central Asia.
As people prepared to sleep on Friday, strong tremors were felt by residents in the northern states of India and Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“Preliminary reports suggest that there was no destruction or collapse of buildings, but we will examine whether cracks have developed in dams, bridges or power plants,” said SK Singh, an official with the National Disaster Management Authority in New Delhi.
No victims have been reported so far, he said, adding that the tremors lasted a long time and may have damaged parts of residential and public properties.
Fire officials said there were reports of superficial damage to buildings caused by the earthquake, which forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in Jammu and Kashmir in India, Punjab and New Delhi.
(Written by Rupam Jain; Editing by Michael Perry)