The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake at a depth of 15.7 km roughly 89 km west of Chipata in Eastern Province, Zambia, slightly before 4.25 pm local time (slightly before 2.25 pm GMT) on Wednesday 2 October 2013. There are no reports of any damage or casualties arising from this quake, though it was felt locally.
The approximate location of the 2 October 2013 Zambia Earthquake. Google Maps.
Eastern Zambia 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.
See also Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake in northern Tanzania, Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake in southern Manica Province, Mozambique, Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake under Lake Albert in central Africa, Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa and Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake beneath Lake Albert.
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