DUSHANBE, July 31 (RIA Novosti) - An earthquake destroyed some 1,500 buildings in southern Tajikistan on Saturday, killing three children, wounding 19 people, and leaving another 1,200 homeless, the Central Asian republic's emergencies ministry said Monday.

Two tremors, with an intensity measuring 5.5 on the 12-point MSK-64 scale, hit Tajikistan's Kumsangir province. Some 320 houses were flattened and around 1,200 sustained partial damage.

The government has dispatched to Kumsangir an aid package with 300,000 metric tons of food, including staples such as butter, flour and sugar, as well as 86 tents.

Aid for the damaged area is also coming in from international relief organizations, including 41 makeshift houses from the Red Crescent Society.