DUSHANBE, March 14, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- No Tajik citizens have been hurt in the massive earthquake and subsequent destructive tsunami that struck Japan last Friday, according to the Tajik MFA information department.

The source says 45 Tajik nationals temporarily living in Japan have been registered with the Tajik Embassy in Tokyo.  “According to the Tajik diplomatic mission, no tajik nationals have been hurt in the earthquake,” he said.

According to the source, the Tajik Embassy in Tokyo is currently working around the clock and ready to provide assistance to Tajik citizens in case of necessity.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a series of enormous earthquakes struck off the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan on early Friday afternoon, generating huge tsunamis that devastated coastlines and has prompted tsunami warnings for dozens of countries.  The initial 8.9-magnitude earthquake at 2.46 p.m. local time (0546 GMT) was centered about 130 kilometers east of Sendai in Japan, on the nation''s main island of Honshu.  It struck about 24.4 kilometers deep, making it a shallow earthquake.

The BBC reports Japanese police have so far confirmed 1,597 deaths because of the natural disasters, but the final toll is expected to be much higher.