More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in an earthquake in Tajikistan, but no casualties have been reported, an official in the former Soviet republic said today.

A 5.2-magnitude earthquake shook a mountainous area southeast of the capital Dushanbe on yesterday morning, state media reported.

"1,050 residential buildings were destroyed in our region," said Azimdzhon Shamsiddinov, the deputy head of the Vanj district, 390 kilometres southeast of Dushanbe.

There were no casualties as residents left their houses when they felt the first tremors, he said.

Tajikistan, which borders Afghanistan, is the poorest former Soviet republic, and is prone to earthquakes.

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