Second earthquake hits Azerbaijani Oghuz
By Nigar Orujova
An earthquake hit the Oghuz region of Azerbaijan on September 4, said the Republican Seismic Survey Center.
The quake occurred in Oghuz region, some 27 kilometers south-east from the Shaki region, at 2:39 p.m. local time.
The earthquake’s hypocenter was as a depth of 20 kilometers, and had a magnitude of 3.3, however no tremors were felt.
This strong earthquake has led to serious consequences in Oghuz. The quake caused cracks in the walls of the houses in the region, the representative of Oghuz Region Executive Power told Trend.
The representative added that currently the amount of the damage is being calculated.
This is the second earthquake in Azerbaijan on September 4. Earlier a strong earthquake hit Shaki at 9:49 in the morning.
Its strength in the epicenter measured seven on Richter scale, while the adjacent districts of Azerbaijan felt tremors measuring 6, 5, 4 and 3 points.
The earthquake’s hypocenter was at a depth of 13 kilometers, while its magnitude was 5.9. The tremors were already felt in Mingachevir, Yevlakh, Ganja, Goychay and other regions.
The earthquake in Sheki caused no victims or injures, Sheki Executive Power reported earlier. In some places of the region, particularly Turan village that locates close to the epicenter, cracks appeared in a number of old buildings and houses.
Scientists believe that seismic zones with the potential to produce dangerous force cover the entire country, while the Alpine-Himalayan seismic belt passes directly through Azerbaijan.
Last year was marked with an intensification of seismic processes as well as the most powerful earthquakes that Azerbaijan has seen in the past 15 years.
Six earthquakes measuring over 5.0 on the Richter scale occurred in Azerbaijan in 2014, releasing a tremendous volume of energy.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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