The 2008 Kyrgyzstan earthquake struck on October 5 at 21:52 local time (15:52 UTC) with a moment magnitude of 6.6, killing 75 people, including 41 children,[1] and injuring 150 people, including 93 children.[2][3] The center of the earthquake was near the town of Nura, which was destroyed in the quake.[4] The shock destroyed dozens of buildings in the area and destroyed the nearby village of Kura.[5] Minor damage also occurred in nearby Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The quake was felt throughout Central Asia.[5] A magnitude 5.7 aftershock in Xinjiang[6] and a magnitude 5.1 aftershock in Kyrgyzstan[2] followed the earthquake. Two more aftershocks above magnitude 5 in Kyrgyzstan[7][8] and one in Xinjiang[9] struck on October 13, UTC time. Victims were transported in military helicopters to hospitals in Osh.[10]
The Kyrgyzstan Emergency Ministry said that few buildings remained standing in the village: "Almost all buildings in the village have been destroyed. The only buildings remaining are the properly engineered ones which were built recently: the school and a medical clinic."[1] Kanatbek Abdrakhmatov, head of the Institute of Seismology, attributed much of the destruction due to inferior construction of the buildings, many of which were built out of clay and straw.[1]
The injured were paid 5,000 Kyrgyzstani soms (US$ 136) and 3 tons of coal, and families of the dead received 50 kg of flour.[11] 200 people wish to remain in Nura, and were provided with 100 6-person tents.[12] 100 mobile homes are being transported to Nura, and the village will be rebuilt in the spring of 2009, and should be completed by August 2009.[12]Uzbekistan pledged the equivalent of US$200,000 in humanitarian aid, including 120 tons of cement, as well as other building materials.[13]
In Kyrgyzstan, an official day of mourning was observed on October 7, 2008.[2]
