Before the earthquakes that hit Kyrgyzstan in December and January, Kyrgyz seismologists issued warnings about the danger of the approaching disasters, including a personal appeal from the director of the Institute of Seismology in the Academy of Sciences, Kanatbek Abdrakhmatov, to the recently named Premier, Igor Chudinov, two days before the earthquakes in Osh, reported Ferghana information agency.  Abdrakhmatov expressed regret that the warnings went unheeded. The expert, citing a report released by the Institute, said the Osh region is currently in a period of seismic activity, and new, destructive earthquakes reaching eight or nine on the Richter scale are possible.  Such quakes have the potential to level 90 percent of the homes in the region, detailed Abdrakhmatov. The report also warns of the possibility that strong earthquakes with a magnitude of eight on the Richter scale could strike the capital Bishkek between 2011 and 2013, informed the news source.   

Several earthquakes hit Kyrgyzstan at the end of 2007 and the beginning of 2008. The largest one, with a magnitude of 5.6, occurred on January 1, 2008 with an epicenter in the region of Osh. No injuries were sustained but many homes, schools, and municipal buildings were damaged or destroyed.

This information was originally published on January 16, 2007. (www.ferghana.ru)