Tajik Authorities Rendering Urgent Humanitarian Aid To Population After Earthquake

The authorities of Tajikistan are rendering urgent humanitarian aid to the population in the villages which were damaged by the earthquake. As the operational headquarters of the Emergencies Ministry of Tajikistan reports, a column of lorries with foodstuffs, tents and medicines has already arrived in the area of the calamity. At the present time the best specialists of the republican Emergencies Ministry are working in the tumble-down villages and towns in the south east of the country. They are peeling away debris, evacuating people, who have been left without a roof over their heads, to neighbouring villages and are rendering the victims the necessary medical aid. A government commission is working at the place of the tragedy. A strong earthquake occurred in the territory of Tajikistan on January 9. Its epicentre was 240 kilometres to the south east of Dushanbe - in the foothills of the Pamir Mountains. The earthquake measured 7.0 on the Richter. In the town of Ragun fifty-two buildings have been devastated, three persons died, and about six hundred families have lost their housing. The damage inflicted upon the republic by the elements is being specified.