Japan helps Turkmenistan to improve earthquake monitoring
By Fatma Babayeva
Development opportunities for the Ashgabat seismic network have been considered within the framework of cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in order to improve monitoring earthquakes, the Turkmen government reported.
Three digital seismic stations and 10 sets of equipment (including installation on high-rise buildings) are planned to be installed around the Turkmen capital, the government said.
Turkmen specialists will be sent to have trainings on modern techniques of seismological data processing in Japan according to intergovernmental agreement between Japan and Turkmenistan.
Earlier it was reported that JICA will provide Turkmenistan with modern seismological equipment, digital seismic stations and software for data processing and interpretation.
Turkmenistan is located in a seismic zone. Ashgabat experienced a catastrophic earthquake on the night of October 6, 1948, with magnitude of 10 on the Richter scale claiming many lives.
Turkmenistan is characterized by having structurally unstable soils. Because of the climatic conditions, high corrosion activity is observed in the country. The high salinity of groundwater, intensity of solar radiation and other environmental factors also are among issues that local seismologists need to address.
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Fatma Babayeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Fatma_Babayeva
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