A Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake occurred at a depth of 30.8 km beneath Lake Albert, which forms part of the border between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, slightly after 10.30 am local time (slightly after 7.30 am, GMT), on Monday 5 August 2013, according to the United States Geological Survey. There are no reports of any damage or casualties, but people have reported feeling the quake on the Ugandan side of the lake as far away as Kampala.
The approximate location of the 5 August 2013 Lake Albert Earthquake. Google Maps.
Lake Albert forms part of the of the Great Rift Valley, which is slowly splitting the African Plate in two allow 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.
See also Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa, Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake beneath Lake Albert, Magnitude 4.2 Earthquake in Mozambique, Earthquake off the coast of Mozambique and Earthquake shakes Lake Turkana in Kenya.
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