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Moderate 4.7 quake hits near Balkanabat in Turkmenistan

05 April 2021 16:29 (UTC +04:00)

A shallow magnitude 4.7 earthquake was reported in the afternoon near Balkanabat, Balkan, Turkmenistan, APA reports.

According to the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), the quake hit on Monday 5 April 2021 at 4:33 pm local time at a shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.

A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 4.7 earthquake as well.

Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter.

Weak shaking might have been felt in Gumdag (pop. 24,300) located 32 km from the epicenter, Balkanabat (pop. 87,800) 43 km away, and Bereket (pop. 21,100) 60 km away.

VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.