Earthquake in Kyrgyzstan cracks houses, leaves no victims

An earthquake measured magnitude 6 on Richter scale rattled southern Kyrgyzstan on Monday night, causing cracks in houses but no casualties, the second quake to shake the Central Asian nation in two weeks, authorities said Tuesday.

Photo: Earthquake in Kyrgyzstan cracks houses, leaves no victims

The quake that struck settlements in Batken region around midnight centered in an area 90 kilometers (56 miles) southwest of the regional center near the border with Tajikistan, the Emergencies Ministry said.

It said emergency services were working in the area to assess the damage and provide assistance to the local population, the AP reports.

Authorities in neighboring Uzbekistan said that tremors measuring 5 on the Richter scale were registered in the capital Tashkent on Monday night.

Two weeks ago, an earthquake of a magnitude of 5.5 struck northern Kyrgyzstan causing cracks in thousands of houses but no casualties.

Mountains cover about 90 percent of the poor ex-Soviet republic.