Residents of Almaty felt earthquake tremors on February 17 afternoon, sparking concern across Kazakhstan’s largest city and highlighting ongoing seismic risks in the region.

The underground tremors were recorded at approximately 15:09 (GMT+5). Many residents reported feeling shaking in homes and offices, particularly in multi-story buildings, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

However, not all residents received the national earthquake alert on their mobile phones, raising questions about the reliability and coverage of the emergency notification system.

Almaty is located near the seismically active Tien Shan mountain range, making earthquakes a recurring concern for the city’s more than two million inhabitants.