The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, in the northwest of Cibitoke Province of northwestern Burundi, close to the border with Rwanda, slightly before 6.10 pm local time (slightly before 4.10 pm
GMT) on Friday 23 September 2016. There have been at least two
fatalities following this event, and at least five injuries, as well as a
large number of building collapses; the damage has been more severe than
would be expected for an event of this size, largely because it
occurred in an area where Earthquakes this large are rare and few if any
buildings are Earthquake proofed. People have reported feeling the
event across the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as most of Rwanda and Burundi, though the fatalities and injuries have all been reported in the Congo.
Damage following the 23 September 2016 Cibitoke Province Earthquake. BBC/Earthquake Report.
Burundi 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.
The approximate location of the 23 September 2016 Cibitoke Earthquake. Google.
See also...
Fourteen dead after Earthquake in northwest Tanzania. The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake at a depth of 40 km, roughly 22 km
to the northeast of Nsunga in the Kagera...
Eruptions from new vent on Mount Nyiragongo, Democratic Republic of Congo. The Observatoire Volcanologique de Goma
has raised concerns about the possibility of a major eruptive episode
on Mount Nyiragongo in the Virungu Mountiains of the North Kivu Province
in eastern...
Magnitude 5.5 Earthquake on the western shore of Lake Kivu. The United States Geological Survey Recorded
a Magnitude 5.5. Earthquake at a depth of 10 km beneath the western
shore of Lake Kivu, which...
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