The United States Geological Survey Recorded
a Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake at a depth of 12.1 km about 23 km to the
southwest of the city of Bukavu in South Kivu Province, Democratic
Republic of Congo, at about 7.20 pm local time (about 5.20 pm GMT) on Saturday 2 December 2017.
There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this
event at this time, but it was felt across much of the Lake Kivu Basin
and Rwanda.
The approximate location of the 2 December 2017 South Kivu Earthquake. USGS.
Lake Kivu lies within the the of the Great Rift Valley, which is
slowly splitting the African Plate in two along a line from the Red Sea
through Ethiopia, and which includes the great lakes and volcanoes of
east-central Africa. This has the potential to open into a new ocean
over the next few tens of millions of years, splitting Africa into two
new, smaller, continents; Nubia to the west and Somalia to the east.
Movement on the African Rift Valley, with associated volcanoes. Rob Gamesby/Cool Geography.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organisation Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
See also...
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