Earthquake in Almaty triggers panic, people evacuated from schools, offices
The Kazakh Emergencies Ministry reported that hotlines with the participation of the ministry’s psychologists have been set up in Almaty
ALMATY, December 4. /TASS/. Tremors in Almaty sparked panic in the city, a TASS correspondent reported.
Evacuations were carried out in a number of secondary schools, offices, and shopping malls. People were leaving their homes en masse and taking to the streets.
According to the Orda publication, classes and exams were canceled at Turan University due to the earthquake.
The Kazakh Emergencies Ministry reported that hotlines with the participation of the ministry’s psychologists have been set up in Almaty. According to the ministry, the strength of the tremors in the city was 3 points. The epicenter of the earthquake, which occurred at 7:45 a.m. GMT, was located 277 km southeast of Almaty in Chinese territory.
The European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre earlier reported that a magnitude 6.2 earthquake occurred in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. The epicenter was located 141 km northwest of Tumxuk county, which has a population of 135,000 people. The focus was at a depth of 7 km. There is no information about casualties or damage.