The U.S. Geological Survey says a 5.5 magnitude earthquake struck the south shore of Kyrgyzstan’s Lake Issyk-Kul shortly before sunrise on November 14.
The epicenter was located between the town of Bokonbayevo and the village of Kaji Say in the Tong district of Issyk-Kul Province, about 250 kilometers southeast of the capital, Bishkek.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage in the rugged and remote region, which is less populated than Lake Issyk-Kul’s northern shore.
But experts say a magnitude 5.5 quake is capable of causing considerable damage.
U.S. geological scientists said the quake was very shallow, at a depth of about 10 kilometers, giving its force an amplified effect.
In 2008, at least 74 people were killed by a 6.6 quake that flattened a remote mountain village in the southern province of Osh near Kyrgyzstan’s borders with Tajikistan and China.