Earthquake shakes south-western Siberia, destroying homes and halting coal mining in Kuzbass

The strongest earth movements were in the area of Belovo and Guryevo district, but it was also felt in the cities of Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Prokopyevsk and Leninsk-Kuznetskiy, and in the mountainous Altai Republic. 

Reports said more than 500 houses were destroyed in the village of Bachatsky, home to 16,000.

'Some houses are heavily damaged, some suffered less damage. The most affected are the houses where the ceilings and walls have collapsed,' said a local administration official. 

In February a 4.4 quake was felt in the same village. The epicentre of the latest earthquake was located 3 km west off the township of Starobochaty, at a depth of  9.8 km, said reports.

About 6.10 am (3.10am Moscow time), Novosibirsk emergency service call centre started to register phone calls from people living in the city and further south in the scientific town of Akademgorodok. 

'It was the first earthquake I ever felt here in Akademgorodok. Its 6 am now and I was hoping for a longer sleep, but there is no way I can fall asleep now', said local resident Ekaterina.

Kemerovo governor Aman Tuleyev ordered all work in underground mines  to be suspended in Kuzbass, the heartland of the Russian coal industry. There was no initial reports on injuries from the quake. 

Resident of Novosibirsk Elena Gulyaeva shares how the 19th of June earthquake felt miles away from the epicentre: