Kyrgyzstan is in a seismically dangerous zone. Residents of the country are not accustomed to such a natural disaster as earthquakes. They know about him firsthand. In Kyrgyzstan, an earthquake is a frequent uninvited guest. The republic is in a fever several times a year.
From the history
In Kyrgyzstan, an earthquake is a frequent phenomenon, mentioned even in the folk epos. Only in a year there are up to 3.5 thousand of varying degrees of intensity. Over the past ten years, earthquakes in Kochkor district of the Naryn region (2006), the village of Kan Kadamdzhaysky district of the Batken region (2011), in the Tyup district of the Issyk-Kul region (2013), in the village of Kaji-Sai Tonsky became the largest district of Issyk-Kul region (2014). All these earthquakes did not entail human casualties, but caused a huge loss to the residents of the republic.
Kyrgyzstan earthquake in November 2014
At the end of 2014, residents of the republic had to again experience the devastating consequences of the disaster. The first strike occurred around midnight local time on November 17th. In the area where the epicenter of the earthquake in Kyrgyzstan was located, 45 kilometers east of Osh, the strength of the tremors was recorded up to 7 points. The disaster was not spared the nearest cities - seismologists registered up to 4 - in Naryn, and 3.5 - in the capital, 5 points were felt in Karakol. In the early morning hours of November 18th, repeated tremors occurred.
K. Abdrakhmatov, director of the Institute of Seismology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic, explains this behavior of the earth as an aftershock phenomenon - a series of less intense tremors that occur after the main blow. A similar phenomenon is observed only with powerful earthquakes, the number of shocks is numerous.
In the afternoon, the situation repeated again. The whole scale of the elements was felt especially strongly by residents of high-rise buildings. Fortunately, this earthquake did not take human lives. But the infrastructure of cities and villages caused significant damage. Five EMERCOM groups and a civil protection commission worked at the scene. Many families (152) were left without a roof over their heads. More than 400 houses were recognized as emergency by EMERCOM employees.
Seismologists forecasts
The territory of the republic is at the junction of the Ferghana Depression and the Alai Uplift. Invisible to the human eye, but at the same time, the continuous movement of earthly plates becomes the cause of earthquakes. Seismologists have established during a ten-year observation of the laws of nature that after more or less intense earthquakes a lull period begins, the active phase of strong shocks occurs decades later. So the Gutenberg-Richter law says.
In Kyrgyzstan, an earthquake is strong and destructive - a rare occurrence, and the frequency of natural disasters depends on the intensity of the previous ones. At the same time, strong earthquakes occurred in the republic (8.3 magnitudes on the Richter scale). It is possible that if they were here before, then they can repeat again. So everything turns out in scientific papers and research results.
In fact, in Kyrgyzstan, an earthquake is a frequent and quite noticeable phenomenon. In the long term, several earthquakes can expect the republic. The earth has awakened, and earthquakes that have recently occurred in Pakistan and Afghanistan speak in favor of this. Their victims were more than 1.5 thousand people.
Seismologists of no country in the world can accurately predict the date of the earthquake.
It seems that drastic changes in the habits of nature can not be expected. Which confirms the next revelry of the elements.
The latest earthquake in Kyrgyzstan
As scientists predicted, the last time the earth pulsed in Kyrgyzstan was heard on New Year's Eve 2016. According to the Institute of Seismology, the earthquake occurred in the early morning near the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border. Strength in the epicenter reached 5 points, depth up to 10 kilometers. There were no casualties and destruction. In the last month of last year alone, the earthquake service of Kyrgyzstan recorded 14 earthquakes.
Kyrgyzstan earthquake: victims
The republic is shaking constantly. Fortunately, most tremors pass without human casualties, leaving behind only destroyed buildings. But the most severe earthquake in Kyrgyzstan led to tragic consequences, placing the country in the top lines of news feeds of all the world's media.
The most devastating over the past decade in the republic was the earthquake in the village of Nura, Alai district, Osh region. It happened in October 2008. The strength of tremors reached 8 points. This time in Kyrgyzstan, an earthquake caused huge casualties. The element claimed 75 human lives. On October 5, the whole world learned about this small village in the south of the country. 144 buildings were destroyed. 93 children and 49 adults were hospitalized with injuries. Tremors were felt by neighboring Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and China.
What needs to be done?
As the main security measure in many countries of the world, the Unified Information System operates. As soon as the devices record seismic activity, the signal arrives at important government facilities, production, and SMS is sent to citizens. The time until the wave of the tremor goes from the epicenter to the village may be crucial for saving hundreds of human lives.
From the beginning of an earthquake, a person has literally 15-20 seconds in order to have time to react, leave the room or take the safest position. EMERCOM employees warn that leaving the premises is necessary only if there is confidence that the person will not be littered with debris of nearby tall buildings. Therefore, being in a multi-storey building, it is better to take a position, clinging to the load-bearing wall and as far as possible from the windows. In Kyrgyzstan, the Ministry of Emergency Situations conducts educational and explanatory work with the population so that every citizen of the republic knows the basic rules of conduct in case of an earthquake.