DUSHANBE, Tajikistan — A Jan. 2 earthquake that struck a mountainous region of Tajikistan has left hundreds, perhaps thousands, of villagers homeless in bitter winter weather, Southern Baptist humanitarian workers in Central Asia report.
The 5.3-magnitude quake struck in Gorno-Badakhshansky, the same area hit hard by a tremor in 2009. Southern Baptist relief work from the earlier earthquake is still ongoing in the region and the field partner involved in that effort said he expected to find that many houses weakened by last year’s quake have now collapsed.
Emergency official Munira Nazariyeva said Jan. 4 that on-site inspections counted 783 people homeless, 98 mud-brick houses destroyed and nearly 1,000 others damaged by the quake. No fatalities have been recorded but authorities said electricity, supplies and communication in the area were cut off and rockfalls and mudslides blocked some roads.
Southern Baptist humanitarian workers in the country are gathering information, assessing the damage and beginning to fashion a response to this event, said Francis Horton, who with his wife, Angie, directs work in Central and South Asia for Baptist Global Response. “It will take some time to get accurate figures on the homeless,” Horton said. “This field partner is continuing an assessment of the situation and will be designing a response that will best assist those affected by this earthquake.”
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